Voldemort's Daughter: The Final Riddle
by Veryala Riddle
Summary: The story of Voldemort's daughter. Includes several OC & OC pairings early on, with canon character s and OC later - I'll bet you can guess who! Starts in Marauder Era and will go all the way through the Second Wizarding War.
1. The Diamond in the Rough

**Chapter I**

**The Diamond in the Rough**

_The night is shrouded in fog, a fog that seems to seep into the very soul, making it a struggle to not only to see but to hear, to feel, even to breathe. A dark figure can dimly be seen disappearing in a cloud of the deepest blackness, leaving behind the sound of cold, chilling laughter that lingers in the air with the fog. She is suddenly aware of a horrible sensation, like freezing and burning at the same time, writhing through her body like a serpent, creeping into her mind and drawing curtains over her vision. Her knees hit the pavement as she falls to the ground, eyes open but sightless, and she hears distant screaming…._

"Diana, you have a visitor."

The voice broke her concentration, awakening her from her memories and bringing her back to the present. She sat up on her bed and looked around, blinking her eyes in the bright light as if she had just been asleep for hours. The translucent, glass-like spheres that had been floating aimlessly about the small hospital room gravitated toward the open door, as if trying to escape. Diana's short, blonde nurse stood there in the doorway, eyeing the spheres suspiciously and holding the door open for the visitor. She was wearing the most counterfeit smile Diana had ever seen – and no wonder.

Nothing could have looked more out of place in the blandly decorated, extensively normal room than the man standing in the doorway. Neither Diana nor the nurse had never seen such a flamboyantly cut suit in their entire lives, nor one even close to that shade of bright purple. Though the man's long, white hair and beard made it obvious that he had lived quite a long time, he was not the kind of man that could really be called old, and this made him stranger still. Diana's eyes traveled to the man's hat, which was the same bright purple color as his suit, rested on it for a moment, then came back to his face bearing a curious expression. Diana had not seen very much of the world beyond the hospital in which she now resided, but the way the nurse was eyeing the visitor made her fairly certain that the man was not at all considered normal.

"Good afternoon, Diana," said the man pleasantly, stepping smartly into the room as the nurse closed the door. "I am Professor Dumbledore."

"Hello," she responded automatically, still trying to figure out what kind of a man this was.

He smiled kindly, regarding her with disguised curiosity. She was slender and tall, especially for an eleven-year-old, with pale skin and dark hair falling past her shoulders. Her grey-blue eyes were an echo of her mother's, but they wore a strange expression of guardedness that Dumbledore had never seen in them in the years he had known her. Dumbledore noted that her eyes, and perhaps her build, were the only things she seemed to have inherited from her mother. The rest of her features held almost no trace of the woman whose death had left Diana an orphan, making plainer the mystery of her unknown father.

As for Diana, she was having trouble deciding what to think of this Professor Dumbledore. He was certainly like no other person she had ever met, and she wasn't entirely sure why someone with the title of Professor would be coming to see her. She met his gaze intently, trying to tell what his purpose was, but here was something else she could not remember ever encountering before: a human being whose intentions she could not perceive.

Dumbledore seemed to recognize what she was doing, or at least that she wanted to know the answer to a very obvious question. He smiled indulgently and sat down in the only chair in the room, which occupied a space directly below the only window. The glass-like spheres that had been trying to escape through the door gave up their quest and began to drift aimlessly through the air once more.

"You are undoubtedly wondering why I am here," said the man, pulling the chair over to the side of the bed so that he was directly facing its occupant. Diana nodded, fearing the worst and wishing the floating spheres would disappear. She continued to search his expression but it told her nothing.

"I have come to offer you a place at my school."

Her eyes widened slightly. "School?" she said blankly, taken off guard. She had been expecting an asylum, or another conversation about a mental hospital. She was certain that a school was very different from either of those places, though she wasn't entirely sure why. She searched Dumbledore's expression once more, then hesitated before asking: "What – what kind of school?"

"Hogwarts is a school for people who, like yourself, possess certain special abilities."

Her expression changed from confusion to interest. "There are others like me?" she said, then, apparently deciding she had accepted it too quickly, became wary again. "But –" She glanced at the spheres apprehensively. "How do I know this isn't a trick? They've tried to trick me before – but I know when they're lying, and _you_ –" she halted, once more looking straight into Dumbledore's bright blue eyes, searching for something again. "I – I don't know if you're lying or not," she finished, both abashed and intrigued at the same time.

"You can tell when others are lying?" asked Dumbledore, leaning forward slightly in his seat.

"Yes," she answered. "Always, when I make eye contact. Not you though – that's never happened before."

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, between you and me, Diana, I am a rather extraordinary man."

Diana laughed nervously, glancing at the spheres once again.

"Are these your creations?" asked Dumbledore, reaching out to touch one. It made a soft tinkling sound as his fingers brushed it.

"I don't know how I do that," she said in response. "They just appear sometimes."

"What else can you do?" he asked, turning back to her.

Diana looked astounded that Dumbledore was interested, and she searched his expression once more before rising from her place and walking over to the small dresser that occupied the left wall. From the top drawer she removed an old, battered book that one of the nurses had lent her and placed it on top of the dresser. She walked purposefully back to the bed and wheeled to face the book, concentrating hard. The book began to move slowly across the dresser, from one end to the other, seemingly of its own accord. It then stood up with its binding facing the ceiling, quivered for a moment, and lay stationary once more.

Diana looked to Dumbledore for approval, and when he smiled at her she excitedly moved to the open window behind him, stretching out her hand. After only a few seconds a little sparrow flew into it, chirping animatedly and looking slightly flustered. "I can make animals do things without training them," she said, and the sparrow flew into the room, cheerfully zooming around the perimeter as if there was nothing it would rather be doing. "Mostly I just ask them to come in here," she said. "The other children here don't –" she took a deep breath and the sparrow stopped flying, landing on the dresser and looking completely nonplussed. "I don't really have any friends," Diana said quietly. "They all think I'm strange."

The spheres floating around the room started tinkling again. "I don't know why they do that," she said in response to Dumbledore's glance at the nearest one. "They make that noise sometimes when I'm sad or – or lonely." She finished in a quiet voice, as if being lonely was something to be ashamed of, then looked forlornly up at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled kindly at her and said, very gently, "Hogwarts is a school for children with abilities like yours. You will be among others like yourself, should you decide to come."

She looked as if she wanted to say something, but bit it back before the words came out. She gave the dresser a fleeting, apprehensive glance before turning back to Dumbledore.

"There really are others like me?" she said after a silence.

"Yes," replied Dumbledore. "You are a witch, Diana."

"A – a witch?" she said, bewildered. "You mean – what I can do is – _magic?_"

"That's right," said Dumbledore, smiling.

Diana paused, bewildered, taking in Dumbledore's strange appearance once more and finally beginning to understand what it meant.

"And does that mean you're –"

"A wizard, yes, I am."

She really smiled for the first time since Dumbledore had walked in, and if she had not been standing in the same spot and wearing the same hospital gown it would have been hard to tell that she was the same girl who had been so morose a moment ago.

"I take it, then, that you accept your place at Hogwarts?" said Dumbledore, standing up and smiling back at Diana.

"Yes!" she said with barely controlled excitement, then her expression changed again and she gave the dresser another barely detectable glance.

"Is there something in your dresser?" asked Dumbledore calmly, noticing her odd glances. Diana started and turned back to him, searching his expression again but not answering. Dumbledore waited patiently, and finally she walked over to the dresser and grasped the knob of the middle drawer.

"I can't always control what I do," she whispered, and opened it.

Lying in the drawer and giving off a faint smell of decay was a sparrow – much like the one that was now perched on top of the dresser, hopping around nervously and apparently trying to figure out where its nest had gone. The bird in the drawer was completely still, and as Diana lifted it out of the drawer its limp body made it clear that the bird was dead.

"I was angry," she said desolately, looking uneasily up at Dumbledore as if she thought he was going to shout at her. "They sent me back to my room after I made the piano play by itself in the children's room and –" her cheeks started to burn and her eyes watered; she seemed to shrink from her own words. "It died," she whispered quietly, looking down at the floor.

"At Hogwarts," said Dumbledore calmly, "you will learn how to control magic as well as use it." He took out his wand and waved it at the sparrow's body, which vanished from Diana's hands. She dared to look up at him, if only to see how he had managed to make the sparrow disappear with nothing other than what appeared to be a stick, and he was smiling again.

"Now that you have accepted your place at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore conversationally, as if the last minute had not happened, "you will need to purchase certain necessary items –"

"I don't have any money," Diana said, looking crestfallen.

"As a matter of fact," said Dumbledore, "you _do._"

Diana gaped at him.

"Your mother left you a reasonable amount when she died."

"You – you knew my mother?" said Diana, completely forgetting about money.

"Your mother was a pupil of mine – and an exceptionally bright one, I must say," said Dumbledore, smiling. "If you will allow me to meet you here at ten o'clock on the thirty-first of August, I will help you find everything you will need for Hogwarts."

A bewildered Diana managed only to nod. "But my mother," she said, "What was she like?"

"All in good time," replied Dumbledore. "I will see you on the thirty-first of August, if that is acceptable?"

Diana nodded once more. At least she would have another opportunity to question this mysterious and eccentric visitor.

Dumbledore smiled. "Farewell then, Diana, until then."

Diana smiled in a mystified sort of way and watched Dumbledore go with an enraptured expression on her face. This, finally, was someone who was like her, someone she could relate to – and by the sound of it, he would not be the last.

Albus Dumbledore left the hospital deep in thought, as he often was. Diana had certainly looked much better than he had expected after hearing what the doctors had said about her condition. She certainly did not look like someone who had been brought to the hospital half-dead seven months ago, screaming in unendurable agony and reeling from the trauma to her nervous system, as they called it. The doctors had said that the ordeal had caused irreversible brain damage, though Dumbledore knew better than to believe them on that account. Muggles would say anything to avoid admitting they didn't understand.

Dumbledore's interview with Diana had convinced him of her sanity, especially when he had employed some subtle Legilimency. It did greatly disturb him that the cause of the pain she had been in was almost certainly of wizarding origin; both its source and its treatment had eluded the doctors even after the pain had subsided. All they had been able to do was make her as comfortable as possible and wait for it to stop, which it had mercifully done after several hours. Though Dumbledore would not have guessed it from speaking to her, they said she had woken up a few days later with no memory of her former life – though her language and motor abilities had been strangely intact. But despite the doctors' belief in her insanity, Dumbledore had no worries about her ability to be successful at Hogwarts – she already had remarkably developed magical abilities for her age, and as far as the sanity of magical patients went he trusted his own judgment a lot more than the Muggle doctors'. With this thought Dumbledore walked happily into a deserted alley, turned on the spot, and was gone.


	2. The Catalyst Thought

**Chapter II**

**The Catalyst Thought**

Never in her memory had Diana known such excitement as when she waited for Professor Dumbledore at ten o'clock on the thirty-first of August. She was awake three hours early, despite having gotten a dismal amount of sleep the night before; her mind was racing too fast to allow more than a few necessary hours. As she waited in the dim front hallway, all her worldly possessions in a tiny bag on her shoulder, she wondered whether it had all been a dream. Maybe she was crazy, maybe the doctors and Ms. Laurie and all the other children were right after all, and no one would ever come because it had all been a gross hallucination….

But, as those who know him can predict, Professor Dumbledore rang the doorbell at exactly 10 o'clock, and before she knew it Diana was sharing a seat with him on the London Underground. His attempts at Muggle apparel now took the form of a bright green pants suit, accompanied by a matching hat that looked like it belonged in a very eccentric circus. His attire attracted too many stares than Diana would have been comfortable with, but Dumbledore remained quite serene, listening patiently to Diana's frequent inquiries about the world she had just become a part of.

"Where are we going to get all this?" she asked, reading off a piece of parchment Dumbledore had given her that listed all her school necessities.

"Diagon Alley," replied Dumbledore.

"Where's that?"

"You'll see," he said with a twinkling smile.

"And you say I've got money? How much?"

"Your mother left you a substantial amount when she passed away. It will be more than enough to get you through your seven years at Hogwarts."

"So –" the question Diana had been wanted to ask ever since she learned Dumbledore had known her mother burned on her lips. "My mother – what was she –?"

But at this instant the train halted and Dumbledore stood up. "This is our stop," he said, and Diana had no choice but to follow him as he stepped smartly off the train and headed into the streets of London.

Diana had never been in such a crowded place before. She stayed very close to Dumbledore, although there was really no need; the people in the crowd seemed to part before him as if his strange ideas about dressing were somehow contagious. Diana had been wanting to ask why he chose to appear the way he did, but couldn't think of a way to do it without being rude. After all, he was the first person who had ever seemed to really like her, and she didn't want to change his mind. Before she could think of a way to phrase her question, Dumbledore halted at the door to an old, grubby looking pub that Diana wouldn't have even glanced at if they hadn't stopped. Bemused, but starting to get used to the feeling by now, she followed him inside.

It was a dark, shabby looking place with only a few customers scattered about the little round tables that filled the room. The low buzz of chatter stopped for a moment when Dumbledore entered, and a few people waved before turning back to their drinks. Dumbledore smiled heartily at a thin old man in a corner, and returned the waves of a group of women who looked like they were in the middle of some very juicy gossip.

"Dumbledore!" called a cheery voice from behind the bar. "What a pleasure! Haven't seen you in ages, have I?"

"No, Tom, I dare say you have not," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "But I regret that I cannot stay long. I have business in Diagon Alley today."

"Ah, of course you do, of course. And who's this little lady?" asked Tom, catching sight of Diana. "Starting your first year at Hogwarts, eh?"

Dumbledore looked about to reply for her, but Diana surprised him slightly by beaming at him and saying, with childlike zeal, "Yes!" Dumbledore smiled at her enthusiasm and beckoned to her to follow him across the bar.

They emerged into a tiny courtyard enclosed in stone walls, and Diana watched as Dumbledore confidently tapped a brick on the wall with the same stick Diana had seen him use to make the dead bird disappear. To her astonishment, the bricks in the wall moved aside to form an archway, and beyond that archway….

"Shall we proceed?" asked a smiling Dumbledore, with one look at Diana's star struck expression.

Diana didn't know what to think, except that this place was the most brilliant and intriguing thing she had ever seen. There were shops everywhere, advertising everything from spellbooks and wands to cauldrons and eyes of newt. Men and women dressed in robes of all sizes and colors walked through the streets, many weighted down with bundles of goods, some of which were moving of their own accord. Diana drank in every sight with an eagerness she had never known before as she and Dumbledore started down the alley towards a large, white building at the end.

Three hours and many questions later, she was sitting happily outside a place called Florean Fortescue's and licking a cone of the best chocolate ice cream she had ever tasted – in fact, it was the only ice cream she had ever tasted. Her purchases were sitting on the floor next to her in various boxes, and on top of them sat a contented looking grey owl who was dozing in the sun, the remains of a snack on the bottom of his cage. Diana had changed into a set of brand new black robes, and somewhere along the way she had looked up at Dumbledore to find him suddenly wearing flowing purple robes instead of the green suit. She was looking at him across the table now, trying to think of another question to ask him. One occurred almost immediately.

"Would you tell me about my mother now, Professor?"

Dumbledore paused, thoughtfully gazing at his generous helping of pink ice cream. Diana watched him hopefully, waiting for the information she had wanted to hear all morning.

"Your mother's name was Larissa Cementire," said Dumbledore finally. "She was a very bright young witch when she was at Hogwarts."

"She went to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, she did. If I remember correctly she was particularly gifted in her spell work – though she did have a certain _impatience_ with herbology." He smiled at this, as if remembering something amusing that had happened long ago.

"What did she do after she left school?"

"Herbology wasn't the only thing your mother had impatience with." said Dumbledore choosing his words carefully. "She had no tolerance for the Dark Arts, and devoted her life to seeking out those who practiced them and putting a stop to their activities. Your mother was an Auror."

Dumbledore was perfectly aware of what he was telling her, and though he was not _entirely_ sure it was a good idea, he thought it best that Diana learn what the Dark Arts were from him rather than from other students. As much as he wished his students could remain ignorant of evil, it was impossible.

"What's an Auror? And what are Dark Arts, Professor?"

"One thing you must understand, Diana, is that not all wizards are good." He turned in his chair to face her directly and leaned forward over the table. "There are good and evil wizards just like there are good and evil Muggles. Some wizards decide to use their powers for evil, and Aurors are the ones who catch them. Wizards have laws just like Muggles do, and consequences for anyone who should break them."

"Is that what all those posters are for? Evil wizards?"

Dumbledore was slightly surprised she had noticed the wanted posters hanging around Diagon Alley; they were certainly nothing compared to the bright displays in the windows of the shops they had passed. The nearly unrecognizable face of another former student glared at Dumbledore from a poster across the street. "Yes," he said after a pause. "They are criminals."

Diana's curious eyes searched Dumbledore's for what would not be the last time, clearly thinking he knew more than he was telling – and she was right. For as Dumbledore glanced at the poster across the street he was remembering another child, one with which he had never been to Diagon Alley but had met in strange circumstances almost exactly as he had met this one. Her eyes held the same expression that his had when he had learned he was a wizard, and her face was handsome in almost the same way… but Dumbledore quickly pushed these thoughts from his mind. There was no connection between that child and this one, the man who stared from a poster across the street and the girl who sat across the table with a chocolate ice cream cone. As Dumbledore watched Diana another question occurred to her, and she spoke without hesitation:

"Do you know anything about my father?"

Dumbledore's kind expression told her the answer before he said it.

"I'm afraid not. Your father is a mystery."


	3. Friends Till the End

**Chapter III**

**Friends Till the End**

The next morning, after a comfortable night at the Leaky Cauldron where she had first entered Diagon Alley, Diana once again found herself moving through crowds beside Dumbledore – although these crowds were mostly made of Muggles and were not nearly as interesting as those of the day before.

Diana was starting to realize that she really liked Dumbledore, and was quite happy to walk through the London train station with him, pushing her trolley in front with her owl looking sleepily around.

"I've decided to call her Diana, after my mother," Diana informed Dumbledore as they pushed through the crowds, once again attracting stares because of Dumbledore's attire.

"She would be touched," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Ah, here we are."

He paused between platforms nine and ten and handed Diana a ticket.

"Now, listen very carefully, because this is important," said Dumbledore, and Diana's attention was directed towards him at once. "To get onto the platform, all you have to do is walk straight into the divider between platforms nine and ten." She opened her mouth to ask a question but Dumbledore cut her off. "Once through, you will see the Hogwarts Express, and it leaves in precisely fifteen minutes so please don't be late."

Diana nodded perplexedly, and Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. I wish you a most excellent journey."

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Diana glanced around her, expecting to see the back of his latest colorful suit walking away from her, but he was nowhere to be found. Slowly, she turned her trolley towards the divider between platforms nine and ten, trusting Dumbledore's instructions but feeling a little foolish all the same. As she stared the divider she saw a boy, a couple years older than her, walk into it just as Dumbledore had described – _and vanish._

A few more people behind the boy did the same, Diana watching in fascination, and as soon as they were all through she decided to take Dumbledore's advice immediately and walked purposefully towards the stone barrier. The collision that some small part of her had still been expecting never came, and she emerged onto platform 9¾.

Witches and wizards all around her were bustling about, handing children last minute objects and kissing them goodbye. Diana did the obvious thing and started for the train, looking around in fascination. She hauled first herself and then her trunk and Larissa on board, with no small effort. Only when she had seated herself in an empty compartment did it occur to her that she didn't know anyone here. After a moment's consideration, she took her trunk down from the overhead rack, opened it, removed one of her new spellbooks, and let her curiosity chase away the nerves.

Diana's eager reading of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 _was not even interrupted by the whistle of the train as it took off. She only vaguely registered the loud chatter that came from the hallway, so engrossed was she in the fantastic treasure she held in her hand. She did not even look up from her book until she heard a voice at her compartment door.

"Excuse me," the voice said, and Diana looked up to see a sweet-looking girl with dark red hair at the door to her compartment. "You don't mind if we sit here, do you? Everywhere else is full."

"No, of course not," said Diana, smiling and trying to sound as friendly as possible. The girl beamed at her and sat smoothly on the seat across from her. A pale, dark-haired boy followed, looking considerably less cheerful and eyeing Diana with wariness. He sat down next to the girl and folded his hands in his lap, looking exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Just forget about it, Sev," said the girl. "They were just being mean."

The boy gave her a sullen look that said he wasn't going to forget about whatever it was any time soon. Diana watched them curiously, not at all sure what to do. She had never been around other children her age except in the hospital, and where they were concerned she had found silence to be the best policy.

"I'm Lily," said the girl, turning to Diana and obviously much more comfortable. "And this is Severus. He's not usually this cross but we just met some rather unpleasant boys in another compartment and they made fun of him." She gave Severus another worried glance, clearly thinking he was letting it get to him too much.

"I'm Diana," said Diana, then, as an afterthought, added, "It's my first year here."

"Ours too!" said Lily, beaming again, and even Severus seemed to cheer up a little bit. Lily's smile seemed to make them both more comfortable, and soon they were all three chatting animatedly as if they had known each other for ages.

"Can you do any magic already?" asked Diana curiously a couple hours later.

"A bit," answered Lily. "I can do some pretty things with flowers. What about you?"

Diana beamed at her second chance to show someone her abilities and directed her attention to an empty chocolate frog casing that she had bought from the lunch trolley. It slowly began to move across the seat toward the opposite end of the compartment, Lily and Severus watching with eyes wide.

"That's really good," said Severus after watching her. "You must be pureblood to be able to do that already."

"Pureblood?" asked Diana. "What's that?"

"It means there's no Muggle blood in your family," he said, but when he caught sight of Lily's expression added, "Of course, it's not bad if there _is _Muggle blood in your family. It's just that some people think Purebloods are, well… better than others. But they're wrong!" he said hastily, glancing nervously at Lily, who after a moment seemed satisfied and looked back at Diana.

"I don't know if there's Muggle blood in my family," said Diana. "I know my mother was a witch but my father is a mystery…."

"Hang on," interrupted Severus, and Lily's mouth opened slightly. "You never knew your parents?"

"No," said Diana. "But it's okay! I can't miss what I never knew I had, right?" She wasn't wholly convinced of this, but didn't want to make the others uncomfortable.

"I didn't know," said Lily, then after a pause: "Have you lived in a hospital your whole life then, or did you live with relatives?"

"I was in the hospital for seven months before Professor Dumbledore came and told me I was a witch."

There was a silence, the first in over an hour, in which Diana bit into a licorice wand and Severus looked down at his hands again.

"Where did you live before the hospital?" asked Lily tentatively, clearly wanting to know the answer but afraid of upsetting Diana. Her fears, however, were put to rest by the thoughtful smile on the other girl's face.

"I don't know," she said. "No one ever told me."

At this Severus looked up at her, bewildered. "But why would anyone have to tell you? Don't you remember?"

"My first memory is waking up in the hospital," said Diana, looking a little confused. At the look on Severus' face she asked, "Is that – bad?"

"Well, most people have memories from before age ten –"

But his reply was cut short by the halting of the Hogwarts Express, and his expression changed from confusion to excitement. "We're here!" he said breathlessly, gathering up his things.

"I wonder what house I'll be in," Lily wondered idly for the third time since the Express had left the station.

"You'd _better _be in Slytherin, because I think I will be," said Severus sincerely. "In fact," he said, turning to Diana, "I hope you _both _are." Diana beamed at him, overjoyed that she had had so much luck so soon.

"Well whatever happens," said Lily, smiling, "We can still be friends."

"Best friends," said Severus.

"'Till the end."


	4. The First Clues

**Chapter III**

**Friends Till the End**

The next morning, after a comfortable night at the Leaky Cauldron where she had first entered Diagon Alley, Diana once again found herself moving through crowds beside Dumbledore – although these crowds were mostly made of Muggles and were not nearly as interesting as those of the day before.

Diana was starting to realize that she really liked Dumbledore, and was quite happy to walk through the London train station with him, pushing her trolley in front with her owl looking sleepily around.

"I've decided to call her Diana, after my mother," Diana informed Dumbledore as they pushed through the crowds, once again attracting stares because of Dumbledore's attire.

"She would be touched," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Ah, here we are."

He paused between platforms nine and ten and handed Diana a ticket.

"Now, listen very carefully, because this is important," said Dumbledore, and Diana's attention was directed towards him at once. "To get onto the platform, all you have to do is walk straight into the divider between platforms nine and ten." She opened her mouth to ask a question but Dumbledore cut her off. "Once through, you will see the Hogwarts Express, and it leaves in precisely fifteen minutes so please don't be late."

Diana nodded perplexedly, and Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. I wish you a most excellent journey."

And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Diana glanced around her, expecting to see the back of his latest colorful suit walking away from her, but he was nowhere to be found. Slowly, she turned her trolley towards the divider between platforms nine and ten, trusting Dumbledore's instructions but feeling a little foolish all the same. As she stared the divider she saw a boy, a couple years older than her, walk into it just as Dumbledore had described – _and vanish._

A few more people behind the boy did the same, Diana watching in fascination, and as soon as they were all through she decided to take Dumbledore's advice immediately and walked purposefully towards the stone barrier. The collision that some small part of her had still been expecting never came, and she emerged onto platform 9¾.

Witches and wizards all around her were bustling about, handing children last minute objects and kissing them goodbye. Diana did the obvious thing and started for the train, looking around in fascination. She hauled first herself and then her trunk and Larissa on board, with no small effort. Only when she had seated herself in an empty compartment did it occur to her that she didn't know anyone here. After a moment's consideration, she took her trunk down from the overhead rack, opened it, removed one of her new spellbooks, and let her curiosity chase away the nerves.

Diana's eager reading of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 _was not even interrupted by the whistle of the train as it took off. She only vaguely registered the loud chatter that came from the hallway, so engrossed was she in the fantastic treasure she held in her hand. She did not even look up from her book until she heard a voice at her compartment door.

"Excuse me," the voice said, and Diana looked up to see a sweet-looking girl with dark red hair at the door to her compartment. "You don't mind if we sit here, do you? Everywhere else is full."

"No, of course not," said Diana, smiling and trying to sound as friendly as possible. The girl beamed at her and sat smoothly on the seat across from her. A pale, dark-haired boy followed, looking considerably less cheerful and eyeing Diana with wariness. He sat down next to the girl and folded his hands in his lap, looking exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Just forget about it, Sev," said the girl. "They were just being mean."

The boy gave her a sullen look that said he wasn't going to forget about whatever it was any time soon. Diana watched them curiously, not at all sure what to do. She had never been around other children her age except in the hospital, and where they were concerned she had found silence to be the best policy.

"I'm Lily," said the girl, turning to Diana and obviously much more comfortable. "And this is Severus. He's not usually this cross but we just met some rather unpleasant boys in another compartment and they made fun of him." She gave Severus another worried glance, clearly thinking he was letting it get to him too much.

"I'm Diana," said Diana, then, as an afterthought, added, "It's my first year here."

"Ours too!" said Lily, beaming again, and even Severus seemed to cheer up a little bit. Lily's smile seemed to make them both more comfortable, and soon they were all three chatting animatedly as if they had known each other for ages.

"Can you do any magic already?" asked Diana curiously a couple hours later.

"A bit," answered Lily. "I can do some pretty things with flowers. What about you?"

Diana beamed at her second chance to show someone her abilities and directed her attention to an empty chocolate frog casing that she had bought from the lunch trolley. It slowly began to move across the seat toward the opposite end of the compartment, Lily and Severus watching with eyes wide.

"That's really good," said Severus after watching her. "You must be pureblood to be able to do that already."

"Pureblood?" asked Diana. "What's that?"

"It means there's no Muggle blood in your family," he said, but when he caught sight of Lily's expression added, "Of course, it's not bad if there _is _Muggle blood in your family. It's just that some people think Purebloods are, well… better than others. But they're wrong!" he said hastily, glancing nervously at Lily, who after a moment seemed satisfied and looked back at Diana.

"I don't know if there's Muggle blood in my family," said Diana. "I know my mother was a witch but my father is a mystery…."

"Hang on," interrupted Severus, and Lily's mouth opened slightly. "You never knew your parents?"

"No," said Diana. "But it's okay! I can't miss what I never knew I had, right?" She wasn't wholly convinced of this, but didn't want to make the others uncomfortable.

"I didn't know," said Lily, then after a pause: "Have you lived in a hospital your whole life then, or did you live with relatives?"

"I was in the hospital for seven months before Professor Dumbledore came and told me I was a witch."

There was a silence, the first in over an hour, in which Diana bit into a licorice wand and Severus looked down at his hands again.

"Where did you live before the hospital?" asked Lily tentatively, clearly wanting to know the answer but afraid of upsetting Diana. Her fears, however, were put to rest by the thoughtful smile on the other girl's face.

"I don't know," she said. "No one ever told me."

At this Severus looked up at her, bewildered. "But why would anyone have to tell you? Don't you remember?"

"My first memory is waking up in the hospital," said Diana, looking a little confused. At the look on Severus' face she asked, "Is that – bad?"

"Well, most people have memories from before age ten –"

But his reply was cut short by the halting of the Hogwarts Express, and his expression changed from confusion to excitement. "We're here!" he said breathlessly, gathering up his things.

"I wonder what house I'll be in," Lily wondered idly for the third time since the Express had left the station.

"You'd _better _be in Slytherin, because I think I will be," said Severus sincerely. "In fact," he said, turning to Diana, "I hope you _both _are." Diana beamed at him, overjoyed that she had had so much luck so soon.

"Well whatever happens," said Lily, smiling, "We can still be friends."

"Best friends," said Severus.

"'Till the end."


	5. A Father's Intention

**Chapter V**

**A Father's Intention**

"Potter, quit playing with that damn Snitch and _get up here!"_ shouted an irritated Leslie Ferguson from thirty feet in the air.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" said James Potter, grinning broadly and mounting his broom. The Golden Snitch that he had been playing with was finally set free, and James leaned back on his broom in mock patience as he waited for it to zoom out of sight. Diana rolled her eyes and turned back to the Quidditch Pitch, though not without having to suppress a grin. Yes, James was an arrogant prat who deserved a good Bat-Bogey hex to the face most days, but there was something funny about him sometimes, however much Lily and Severus wanted to deny it.

Diana had made Chaser on the Gryffindor House Quidditch team for the second year in a row, along with Michael Waters and, of course, Captain Leslie Ferguson of seventh year. At this moment Diana was zooming across the Quidditch Pitch in their first practice of October, breathing in the fresh early morning air and watching for a pass from one of her fellow Chasers, thinking of nothing more consequential than the pleasant weather.

"Here's to you Di!" shouted Michael, grinning and throwing the Quaffle towards her. Diana caught it easily and turned towards the goal, passing to Leslie, whose attempt at a goal was thwarted by Keeper Robin Short. Practice went smoothly for over an hour, the occasional wisecrack from James or Michael keeping the entire team in good spirits.

"Hey Evans!"

_Oh dear God, _thought Diana as she turned to see Lily walking by the field on her way to the lake, accompanied by, as fate would have it, none other than Severus Snape. James' shout had attracted her attention only briefly, but when she saw who it was she turned and kept walking. James started flying towards her, and several things happened at once.

Leslie raced toward James, yelling at him to come back and focus on practice. Severus drew his wand and sent a hex at James, who dived out of the way before likewise drawing his own. And a voice sounded in Diana's ear, as if someone were hovering in the air right next to her.

_We have work to do…._

Diana gasped and lost a few feet of height before she recovered herself. She looked around frantically for the source of the voice, but there was nothing to be found. None of her fellow Quidditch players had seemed to notice the voice or her odd behavior; their attention was focused on the shouts now coming from the ground. Diana gulped and steered downwards, unsure of what to do but reasoning that if the voice startled her again she didn't want to fall from a hundred feet in the air.

As her feet touched the ground a good fifty feet away from her comrades, who had all rallied behind a shouting Captain Ferguson and raced towards James, she felt something rising in her chest. A sort of sadistic excitement was building inside her, starting in her stomach and spreading to her extremities, making her shake with anticipation, although she had no idea what she was expecting to happen – the emotion didn't seem to have anything to do with what was going on at the time.

_Follow me…._

Diana began to move towards the voice, the voice that was coming from nowhere and yet somewhere in front of her at the same time, hardly aware of what she was doing. She didn't even stop to think about the probable consequences following a mysterious disembodied voice could bring; all she knew was that for some reason she had to obey it, and she was suddenly possessed with a desire to follow it to wherever it was leading….

_This way…._

Diana barely noticed when she dropped her broom and broke into a run, sprinting through the entrance hall and up the stairs to the second floor, past a group of surprised third years who gaped at her as she ran by. She could barely hear her own footsteps or her heavy breathing; it was as if the sounds were coming from very far away. She didn't even know where she was going, only that she had to follow the sound of that voice, that it was very important….

"Merlin's beard Diana, what's the hurry?"

Professor Slughorn's voice cut through the fog of excitement and confusion surrounding Larissa's mind. She stopped, aware that she did not want to cause suspicion, although unsure exactly why. She was certain that she should keep the fact that she was hearing voices a secret as well. She turned slowly to face Slughorn, noticing for the first time a strange blackness tugging at the edges of her vision. She was not aware that she had decided to speak when her voice issued from her mouth, sounding unusually low and calm:

"Nothing, Professor."

"Nothing? Good gracious m'dear, people don't go sprinting through the halls for nothing! What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing, Professor, I was just going to fetch a book before class."

"Classes don't start for another half hour! Surely you don't need…" Slughorn broke off, noticing something in her eyes that unsettled him. She looked remarkably like… but no, that was ridiculous, to think that he would ever compare Diana Cementire to that awful boy ….

"I have some homework to complete before class, sir. I was hoping to find time to finish it."

"Are you sure you're alright, Diana?" Slughorn asked, peering closer at her. There was something unnatural about that look in her eyes. "You don't… you don't look like yourself, m'dear, and you know how I dislike it when something's troubling my favorite students…." He tried to chuckle but the sound was caught in his throat. Another distinctly familiar look, this time of mild incredulity, replaced the polite indifference that had been there a moment before.

"I assure you, Professor, I'm quite alright. May I go?" The excitement that had been momentarily deadened by this unexpected interruption began to build again as Diana's voice continued to issue from her mouth unbidden. _If he would only walk away…. _She felt as if she was watching a movie under the influence of too much sleeping serum; she dimly felt that something was wrong but could not bring herself to process what it was.

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey?"

"That won't be necessary."

"Are you quite certain, Diana? You really don't seem like yourself." Slughorn said nervously, still staring at her and trying to work out what exactly was so unnerving. He was certain that something was wrong; she looked like a completely different person than the one who usually sat laughing next to Lily Evans in his Potions classes. He hoped that his eyes were just playing tricks on him with regards to the exact nature of _what_ was wrong; what they were telling him was completely implausible….

"I have told you Professor, I am perfectly alright." This time there was a slight edge of impatience in her voice, and Slughorn felt as if her eyes were boring into him, eyes that suddenly did not seem so unlike the ones that stared at him from the front page of the Daily Prophet almost every day now….

"Horace?"

Diana's gaze shifted beyond Slughorn to the stairs that led up from the entrance hall, and he caught a flicker of fear in them before they regained their composure. Slughorn turned.

"Is there a problem, Horace?"

The calm figure of Professor Dumbledore made its way toward them, undoubtedly on his way up from breakfast as Slughorn had been a moment before. His gold-embroidered purple robes skimmed the floor as he made his way toward them, an unreadable expression on his face. Although the Headmaster's clothing and facial expression were not unfamiliar, Diana thought he looked different somehow. She inexplicably found herself avoiding his gaze; her muscles tensed and her mind seemed to brace itself. The excitement that had been building again was extinguished as if it were a fire that had been doused with a bucket of water. She felt trapped.

"I – I'm not sure, Headmaster," Slughorn said, glancing nervously at Diana. "She says she's quite alright but I'm not so certain, she's acting very odd…." He gave Diana another worried look, as if expecting her to go into convulsions at any moment.

"Odd?" Dumbledore's eyebrows narrowed ever so slightly as he drew level with Diana. She had an overwhelming urge to run but stayed where she was, careful to avert her eyes. Something told her she must not meet Dumbledore's gaze. She could feel him scrutinizing her, though her head was turned decidedly to the side.

"Diana, look at me please."

Her skin turned to ice as she felt Dumbledore's eyes on her face. The voice was whispering again, though she couldn't understand what it was saying. Her entire attention was focused on avoiding Dumbledore's piercing stare. Down the corridor she dimly heard a group of students making their way to their morning classes after breakfast, getting steadily louder as they approached.

"Look at me."

Something in her came to its senses as it recognized Dumbledore's voice. It was the first voice she could ever recall being glad to hear. It belonged to the first person whose company she could remember enjoying. And that person could be trusted, he could help, and she wanted help because something was very wrong….

Diana jerked her head to look at Dumbledore and as she did so, she felt a moment of wildness and panic before her mind started to clear. The blackness retreated from her vision and all that was left was a pair of piercingly blue eyes that made her feel like she was being x-rayed. Diana's mouth opened slightly as she realized what had just happened – or, rather, that she had no idea what had just happened.

Dumbledore looked up from her, and this time his face did show expression. He looked concerned, and Diana looked up at him uneasily.

"Professor –?"

"Horace, kindly show Miss Cementire to my office. I will be with her shortly."

Diana had no choice but to follow Slughorn down the corridor, at a complete loss for words and an even greater loss for comprehension. She had no idea what had just happened, nor how serious it was, although she reluctantly admitted to herself that it couldn't be good if she was being shown to the Headmaster's office by a Professor who was apparently stunned into silence. She had the unpleasant feeling that she had done something very, very wrong. She had never seen Dumbledore angry before, but was completely convinced that she never wanted to be on the receiving end of his fury. Now that she had come to her senses she had no idea why she had even dreamed of obeying those voices. What a stupid thing to do! She could see Lily now: _What on earth were you _thinking? _You could have been hurt, that might have been Dark Magic…._

"Apple tart."

Diana looked up at this seemingly random remark from Professor Slughorn, but soon realized that it must be a password because a stone gargoyle had sprung aside to reveal a winding staircase snaking its way upwards in spirals. Slughorn ushered her onto it and they soon came level with a landing on which stood a large, impressive-looking door. Slughorn opened it and Diana followed him inside.


	6. Inheritance

**Chapter VI**

**Inheritance**

Dumbledore's office was large and circular, and had Diana not been so focused on what had just happened she would have found it a very beautiful room. A few of the portraits hanging on the walls, which seemed to be paintings of former headmasters and headmistresses, emitted soft snores as they dozed in their frames.

Slughorn stepped to one side and suddenly seemed very interested in one of many puffing and whirring instruments that were placed throughout the room. Diana thought he looked unsure as to whether he should stay or go, but whatever the case he was pointedly not looking at her. The feeling that she had done something terribly wrong deepened.

It was not long before Dumbledore arrived to break this incredibly awkward silence, and though Diana was nervous she was also relieved – at least his presence assured her she would get some answers, even if they turned out to be unpleasant.

"Thank you, Horace. You may go," said Dumbledore evenly as he entered, and Diana chanced a look at him. He did not look angry; in fact, she would even say he looked perfectly relaxed. He stepped behind his large, claw-footed desk as a relieved looking Slughorn left the office, neatly sitting down in his high-backed chair and putting his fingertips together. He gestured calmly to another, smaller chair on Diana's side of the desk.

"Please, sit down."

It was a request, not an order, and this was perhaps the thing that surprised Diana the most. Dumbledore was definitely not behaving as she had expected. As she nervously sat down a soft cooing sound came from the left side of Dumbledore's desk, and Diana's attention was momentarily distracted by a magnificent looking bird with bright red and orange plumage that she had not noticed before. It was watching her curiously, but she tore her eyes away from it and looked back at Dumbledore.

"Sir, I –" she began, but Dumbledore held up his hand.

"I am sure you would like an opportunity to explain yourself, and I will oblige you in a moment, but first I would like you to do something for me."

Diana fell silent as he stood and moved to one of the many cabinets lining the walls. He opened one with silver handles and removed something small and green before returning to the chair behind his desk. Diana saw that the object in his hand was a tarnished brooch in the shape of a serpent.

"A gift from an old friend," Dumbledore said in response to Diana's curious glance. His tone was unreadable. Diana didn't reply, mostly because she had no idea what to say.

Dumbledore gave the brooch a fleeting glance that seemed to be fond and disgusted at the same time before placing it on the desk in front of them.

"Diana, this may seem like an odd request to make of you, but I ask that you humor me."

Diana looked up at him and nodded. "Believe it or not sir, I've gotten pretty used to odd things by now," she said quietly. Dumbledore smiled faintly and pushed the brooch toward her.

"You told me when I first met you that you could command animals without training them." It was a statement, not a question. Diana nodded again.

"Have you ever found yourself able to converse with an animal, particularly a serpent like you see before you, instead of simply commanding it?"

Diana thought for a moment then shook her head. "No, sir. I can't even remember ever seeing a real snake before."

Dumbledore gave her one more piercing look before speaking once more.

"Focus on the serpent, Diana, and describe it for me, please."

Diana did find this request strange, but nevertheless directed her attention to the brooch in front of her. "Well, Professor," she began, focusing on the emerald serpent that dominated the ornament. "It's a bright green, looks to be made of jewels, and it's curving its body around – "

"That's enough, Diana. Thank you."

Diana looked up, slightly startled at Dumbledore's change of tone. He was still calm, but there seemed to be something else in his voice that she couldn't quite recognize. He stood and replaced the brooch in its cabinet before returning to the desk, once more putting his fingertips together.

"Sir –"

"It would seem that you are a Parselmouth, Diana."

"I – what?"

"You have the ability to converse with serpents."

His tone remained calm, though his eyes had moved back to Diana's and she felt once more as if she were being x-rayed.

"But how do you know, Professor? And what does that have to do with –"

"Allow me to explain," he said, leaning forward slightly. "Someone who can speak Parseltongue, or rather the language of serpents, is able to speak with those creatures in their own language. You did not notice that you were speaking a different language just now –" Diana's eyes widened as he spoke "– but I, as someone who does not possess the ability, could not understand you. Or rather," he added as an afterthought, and Diana's eyes grew even wider, "anyone else who does not possess the ability would not have been able to understand you. It just so happens that I am one of the rare few who have learned to understand that language, though I cannot speak it myself." The flicker of a smile crossed his face as he watched her astonished expression.

"But Professor – I –" Diana searched wildly for the words to form her question while trying to process this new information at the same time. "I was speaking a different language?" she asked incredulously.

"Indeed you were, Diana. When those with the ability of Parseltongue speak to a serpent, as you did just now, their words come out in the language of snakes."

"But I was talking to you!"

"It is enough for you to be looking directly at a serpent while speaking. That is the reason I wanted you to focus."

A bewildered smile slowly spread across Diana's face as she processed this new information, but it vanished abruptly as she remembered why she was in Dumbledore's office in the first place.

"But sir, what has that got to do with what happened to me earlier?" she asked, and Dumbledore's expression immediately turned unreadable once more.

"What exactly _did _happen, Diana?" he asked placidly, and Diana launched into an explanation of the strange experience. When she had finished, Dumbledore looked at her with x-raying eyes again, a concerned expression on his face.

"I admit that I do not know what has caused this, Diana, but I want you to see me the moment it happens again, do you understand?"

Diana nodded, trying to read his expression but failing spectacularly.

"And Diana," Dumbledore said, looking at her even more intently. "I ask that you not speak of what has happened today with any of your classmates. You may, though I strongly advise against spreading it around, tell your friends of your ability to speak Parseltongue. However –" his voice dropped and he leaned forward – "the fact that you are hearing voices is not something I wish you to discuss."

It was a mark of Diana's trust in Dumbledore's judgment that she refrained from asking why and simply nodded.

"Now, I believe you are expected in class."

Diana understood that she was dismissed and left the office, still trying to sort through everything that had happened. She had already reached the bottom of the spiral staircase before she realized that Dumbledore still had not told her what her ability to speak Parseltongue had to do with anything.

Dumbledore sighed as he watched Diana leave the office. His suspicions had been correct, something that he found to be an increasingly unpleasant occurrence these days. He had long since noticed Diana's uncanny resemblance to Tom Riddle, but many students of many different backgrounds passed through this school; one was bound to resemble another simply by chance. Or so he had hoped.

Diana's unusually developed proficiency for spell work was the first thing that had really given Dumbledore any cause for unease. Not long after she entered Hogwarts, word reached his ears that she was extraordinarily talented, as Tom had been, and seemed to have an immense appetite for knowledge. These strangely similar traits could not help but make him wonder, and his gaze had often drifted to the Gryffindor table to observe her at mealtimes. But he concluded that she could not be more different from Tom: she had friends, not followers, and she was rarely seen to be cold or unfeeling. She was almost always seen to be laughing and talking happily with her classmates, so Dumbledore had allowed himself to conclude that she simply could not be in any way connected with the man who had been Tom Riddle.

But he had seen the look in her eyes when he had come upon her and Slughorn in the corridor. It had been exactly like Tom's – cordially polite on the surface, but cold and calculating beneath, presenting a façade that only Dumbledore had ever seemed to see through. As soon as she had seen him her eyes had become pitilessly icy and her muscles taught, her pale skin seemingly drawn tighter over her sharpened features, a look that in Tom's face had always signified the approach of the raging fury that had murdered so many innocent people. And when she had looked at him, a split second before she appeared to become herself again, there had been a flash of pure hatred that was only too recognizable.

The fact that she had somehow inherited the ability to speak Parseltongue seemed to make it final – as far as Dumbledore was aware, and he was aware of most things, there had not been another Parselmouth at Hogwarts since Riddle himself. Dumbledore mulled his disturbing conclusion over in his mind, considering, as he always did, all courses of action. He did not know what could have caused Diana's sudden fleeting resemblance to Tom Riddle or the strange voices she had heard, but they convinced him that he needed to watch her, closely and without her knowledge. It was best if she did not find out that the evil man whose freshest murders dominated the front page of the Daily Prophet almost every day was responsible for her very existence.

"You're a _what?"_

Severus gasped in astonishment ten minutes later in Charms, completely forgetting about the pillow he was supposed to be Summoning and letting it drop to the floor. The noisy atmosphere of the room made it unlikely that they would be overheard, although Dumbledore had given Diana permission to tell this part of the story so she didn't think it mattered all that much.

"A Parselmouth!" Diana repeated incredulously. The shock of discovering her latest ability had not quite worn off. "I didn't even know what it was until this morning, but I can speak to snakes!"

Severus stared at her almost exactly as she had stared at Dumbledore when he had first told her the news.

"Is that why you weren't at breakfast, then?" asked Lily, who was sitting next to them and had just Summoned a fluffy white pillow into her lap. "You were off talking to snakes?"

"Yeah, I left Quidditch practice early to go grab a book before breakfast and I ran into Professor Slughorn coming up from the Great Hall. He has this Slytherin clasp on his robes, see, and I just happened to be looking at it while I told him good morning and suddenly he was staring at me like I was from Mars because apparently I was speaking Parseltongue!"

Diana had thought up this lie while walking to Charms from Dumbledore's office. She had tried to stay as close to the truth as possible without admitting to hearing voices, although that meant that she couldn't give a good reason to have been in Dumbledore's office so it ended up being almost a complete lie anyway. She thought it was a fairly believable story; she had indeed left Quidditch early and Slughorn was head of Slytherin house so it wasn't too far of a stretch to imagine him having a serpentine clasp on his robes somewhere. Maybe, if she was really lucky, he even owned such a thing, although she didn't think anyone would look far enough into her story to find out.

Lily seemed to buy it readily enough, although Diana thought it was a good idea to explain that she had gone to the library to look up Parseltongue afterwards to give her a more solid excuse to have been gone at breakfast. But she thought she saw Severus shoot her a curiously suspicious glance before returning his attention to the sad-looking pillow that now lay on the floor several feet away from him.

"It's strange, Di," he said idly after a few minutes worth of Summoning attempts. "Usually speaking Parseltongue is more of a Slytherin ability."

"That's – that's what the library books said!" said Diana, sure this piece of information was something she would have come across had she really gone to the library. She privately resolved never to try and keep up with a lie like this again – that is, if she could actually avoid it next time.

"Really?" said Severus, giving her another curious glance. Diana directed her attention to the box of pillows across the room as an excuse to avoid his eyes. _Stupid Legilimency, _she thought to herself as she Summoned another pillow from the box and added it to the reasonably large pile beside her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Severus do the same, but she had the uncanny feeling that he knew she was hiding something.

"It's incredibly rare," said Severus, eyeing her closely now. "And it's usually associated with Dark Magic."

Lily stiffened at the mention of Dark Magic and the pillow that had been flying neatly toward her veered off course and hit a small, mousey-haired Gryffindor called Peter Pettigrew in the mouth instead. Out of the corner of her eye Diana saw several nearby students – including James Potter and Sirius Black – guffawing loudly as Peter looked hastily around to see who had hit him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Diana asked threateningly. Severus looked coolly up at her, taking in her expression in a calculating way.

"Parseltongue isn't a random ability, Di. It's hereditary."

Her jaw stiffened and her eyes grew cold. Severus recognized the warning signs but pressed on nevertheless.

"You don't know anything about your father. There's a good chance that you got the ability from him."

"I hardly think that means he was a Dark wizard."

"You'd have a hard time finding a Parselmouth who wasn't."

"There's one sitting right in front of you, isn't there?"

Severus had to admit she was right, and the way she was leering at him had started to make him feel uneasy. He had never seen her face so completely empty of warmth before.

"Let's talk about something else," said Lily hurriedly, noticing the tension and eager to steer the subject away from Dark Magic. "How was Quidditch this morning, Di?"

Diana appreciated Lily's attempt at relieving the tension, especially because she knew that Quidditch was not one of Lily's chief interests. She tried to appear relaxed as she answered Lily's questions, smiling at the right moments and actually starting to feel somewhat cheerful when Lily brought up Michael Farthers for what felt like the hundredth time that week. But lingering in the back of her mind were voices quite different from those she was actually hearing: not only the cold, disembodied whispers that had led her from the Quidditch pitch that morning, but the voice of Severus Snape, giving her her first and only clue to the identity of the man who was her father.


	7. Rumors

**Chapter VI**

**Inheritance**

Dumbledore's office was large and circular, and had Diana not been so focused on what had just happened she would have found it a very beautiful room. A few of the portraits hanging on the walls, which seemed to be paintings of former headmasters and headmistresses, emitted soft snores as they dozed in their frames.

Slughorn stepped to one side and suddenly seemed very interested in one of many puffing and whirring instruments that were placed throughout the room. Diana thought he looked unsure as to whether he should stay or go, but whatever the case he was pointedly not looking at her. The feeling that she had done something terribly wrong deepened.

It was not long before Dumbledore arrived to break this incredibly awkward silence, and though Diana was nervous she was also relieved – at least his presence assured her she would get some answers, even if they turned out to be unpleasant.

"Thank you, Horace. You may go," said Dumbledore evenly as he entered, and Diana chanced a look at him. He did not look angry; in fact, she would even say he looked perfectly relaxed. He stepped behind his large, claw-footed desk as a relieved looking Slughorn left the office, neatly sitting down in his high-backed chair and putting his fingertips together. He gestured calmly to another, smaller chair on Diana's side of the desk.

"Please, sit down."

It was a request, not an order, and this was perhaps the thing that surprised Diana the most. Dumbledore was definitely not behaving as she had expected. As she nervously sat down a soft cooing sound came from the left side of Dumbledore's desk, and Diana's attention was momentarily distracted by a magnificent looking bird with bright red and orange plumage that she had not noticed before. It was watching her curiously, but she tore her eyes away from it and looked back at Dumbledore.

"Sir, I –" she began, but Dumbledore held up his hand.

"I am sure you would like an opportunity to explain yourself, and I will oblige you in a moment, but first I would like you to do something for me."

Diana fell silent as he stood and moved to one of the many cabinets lining the walls. He opened one with silver handles and removed something small and green before returning to the chair behind his desk. Diana saw that the object in his hand was a tarnished brooch in the shape of a serpent.

"A gift from an old friend," Dumbledore said in response to Diana's curious glance. His tone was unreadable. Diana didn't reply, mostly because she had no idea what to say.

Dumbledore gave the brooch a fleeting glance that seemed to be fond and disgusted at the same time before placing it on the desk in front of them.

"Diana, this may seem like an odd request to make of you, but I ask that you humor me."

Diana looked up at him and nodded. "Believe it or not sir, I've gotten pretty used to odd things by now," she said quietly. Dumbledore smiled faintly and pushed the brooch toward her.

"You told me when I first met you that you could command animals without training them." It was a statement, not a question. Diana nodded again.

"Have you ever found yourself able to converse with an animal, particularly a serpent like you see before you, instead of simply commanding it?"

Diana thought for a moment then shook her head. "No, sir. I can't even remember ever seeing a real snake before."

Dumbledore gave her one more piercing look before speaking once more.

"Focus on the serpent, Diana, and describe it for me, please."

Diana did find this request strange, but nevertheless directed her attention to the brooch in front of her. "Well, Professor," she began, focusing on the emerald serpent that dominated the ornament. "It's a bright green, looks to be made of jewels, and it's curving its body around – "

"That's enough, Diana. Thank you."

Diana looked up, slightly startled at Dumbledore's change of tone. He was still calm, but there seemed to be something else in his voice that she couldn't quite recognize. He stood and replaced the brooch in its cabinet before returning to the desk, once more putting his fingertips together.

"Sir –"

"It would seem that you are a Parselmouth, Diana."

"I – what?"

"You have the ability to converse with serpents."

His tone remained calm, though his eyes had moved back to Diana's and she felt once more as if she were being x-rayed.

"But how do you know, Professor? And what does that have to do with –"

"Allow me to explain," he said, leaning forward slightly. "Someone who can speak Parseltongue, or rather the language of serpents, is able to speak with those creatures in their own language. You did not notice that you were speaking a different language just now –" Diana's eyes widened as he spoke "– but I, as someone who does not possess the ability, could not understand you. Or rather," he added as an afterthought, and Diana's eyes grew even wider, "anyone else who does not possess the ability would not have been able to understand you. It just so happens that I am one of the rare few who have learned to understand that language, though I cannot speak it myself." The flicker of a smile crossed his face as he watched her astonished expression.

"But Professor – I –" Diana searched wildly for the words to form her question while trying to process this new information at the same time. "I was speaking a different language?" she asked incredulously.

"Indeed you were, Diana. When those with the ability of Parseltongue speak to a serpent, as you did just now, their words come out in the language of snakes."

"But I was talking to you!"

"It is enough for you to be looking directly at a serpent while speaking. That is the reason I wanted you to focus."

A bewildered smile slowly spread across Diana's face as she processed this new information, but it vanished abruptly as she remembered why she was in Dumbledore's office in the first place.

"But sir, what has that got to do with what happened to me earlier?" she asked, and Dumbledore's expression immediately turned unreadable once more.

"What exactly _did _happen, Diana?" he asked placidly, and Diana launched into an explanation of the strange experience. When she had finished, Dumbledore looked at her with x-raying eyes again, a concerned expression on his face.

"I admit that I do not know what has caused this, Diana, but I want you to see me the moment it happens again, do you understand?"

Diana nodded, trying to read his expression but failing spectacularly.

"And Diana," Dumbledore said, looking at her even more intently. "I ask that you not speak of what has happened today with any of your classmates. You may, though I strongly advise against spreading it around, tell your friends of your ability to speak Parseltongue. However –" his voice dropped and he leaned forward – "the fact that you are hearing voices is not something I wish you to discuss."

It was a mark of Diana's trust in Dumbledore's judgment that she refrained from asking why and simply nodded.

"Now, I believe you are expected in class."

Diana understood that she was dismissed and left the office, still trying to sort through everything that had happened. She had already reached the bottom of the spiral staircase before she realized that Dumbledore still had not told her what her ability to speak Parseltongue had to do with anything.

Dumbledore sighed as he watched Diana leave the office. His suspicions had been correct, something that he found to be an increasingly unpleasant occurrence these days. He had long since noticed Diana's uncanny resemblance to Tom Riddle, but many students of many different backgrounds passed through this school; one was bound to resemble another simply by chance. Or so he had hoped.

Diana's unusually developed proficiency for spell work was the first thing that had really given Dumbledore any cause for unease. Not long after she entered Hogwarts, word reached his ears that she was extraordinarily talented, as Tom had been, and seemed to have an immense appetite for knowledge. These strangely similar traits could not help but make him wonder, and his gaze had often drifted to the Gryffindor table to observe her at mealtimes. But he concluded that she could not be more different from Tom: she had friends, not followers, and she was rarely seen to be cold or unfeeling. She was almost always seen to be laughing and talking happily with her classmates, so Dumbledore had allowed himself to conclude that she simply could not be in any way connected with the man who had been Tom Riddle.

But he had seen the look in her eyes when he had come upon her and Slughorn in the corridor. It had been exactly like Tom's – cordially polite on the surface, but cold and calculating beneath, presenting a façade that only Dumbledore had ever seemed to see through. As soon as she had seen him her eyes had become pitilessly icy and her muscles taught, her pale skin seemingly drawn tighter over her sharpened features, a look that in Tom's face had always signified the approach of the raging fury that had murdered so many innocent people. And when she had looked at him, a split second before she appeared to become herself again, there had been a flash of pure hatred that was only too recognizable.

The fact that she had somehow inherited the ability to speak Parseltongue seemed to make it final – as far as Dumbledore was aware, and he was aware of most things, there had not been another Parselmouth at Hogwarts since Riddle himself. Dumbledore mulled his disturbing conclusion over in his mind, considering, as he always did, all courses of action. He did not know what could have caused Diana's sudden fleeting resemblance to Tom Riddle or the strange voices she had heard, but they convinced him that he needed to watch her, closely and without her knowledge. It was best if she did not find out that the evil man whose freshest murders dominated the front page of the Daily Prophet almost every day was responsible for her very existence.

"You're a _what?"_

Severus gasped in astonishment ten minutes later in Charms, completely forgetting about the pillow he was supposed to be Summoning and letting it drop to the floor. The noisy atmosphere of the room made it unlikely that they would be overheard, although Dumbledore had given Diana permission to tell this part of the story so she didn't think it mattered all that much.

"A Parselmouth!" Diana repeated incredulously. The shock of discovering her latest ability had not quite worn off. "I didn't even know what it was until this morning, but I can speak to snakes!"

Severus stared at her almost exactly as she had stared at Dumbledore when he had first told her the news.

"Is that why you weren't at breakfast, then?" asked Lily, who was sitting next to them and had just Summoned a fluffy white pillow into her lap. "You were off talking to snakes?"

"Yeah, I left Quidditch practice early to go grab a book before breakfast and I ran into Professor Slughorn coming up from the Great Hall. He has this Slytherin clasp on his robes, see, and I just happened to be looking at it while I told him good morning and suddenly he was staring at me like I was from Mars because apparently I was speaking Parseltongue!"

Diana had thought up this lie while walking to Charms from Dumbledore's office. She had tried to stay as close to the truth as possible without admitting to hearing voices, although that meant that she couldn't give a good reason to have been in Dumbledore's office so it ended up being almost a complete lie anyway. She thought it was a fairly believable story; she had indeed left Quidditch early and Slughorn was head of Slytherin house so it wasn't too far of a stretch to imagine him having a serpentine clasp on his robes somewhere. Maybe, if she was really lucky, he even owned such a thing, although she didn't think anyone would look far enough into her story to find out.

Lily seemed to buy it readily enough, although Diana thought it was a good idea to explain that she had gone to the library to look up Parseltongue afterwards to give her a more solid excuse to have been gone at breakfast. But she thought she saw Severus shoot her a curiously suspicious glance before returning his attention to the sad-looking pillow that now lay on the floor several feet away from him.

"It's strange, Di," he said idly after a few minutes worth of Summoning attempts. "Usually speaking Parseltongue is more of a Slytherin ability."

"That's – that's what the library books said!" said Diana, sure this piece of information was something she would have come across had she really gone to the library. She privately resolved never to try and keep up with a lie like this again – that is, if she could actually avoid it next time.

"Really?" said Severus, giving her another curious glance. Diana directed her attention to the box of pillows across the room as an excuse to avoid his eyes. _Stupid Legilimency, _she thought to herself as she Summoned another pillow from the box and added it to the reasonably large pile beside her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Severus do the same, but she had the uncanny feeling that he knew she was hiding something.

"It's incredibly rare," said Severus, eyeing her closely now. "And it's usually associated with Dark Magic."

Lily stiffened at the mention of Dark Magic and the pillow that had been flying neatly toward her veered off course and hit a small, mousey-haired Gryffindor called Peter Pettigrew in the mouth instead. Out of the corner of her eye Diana saw several nearby students – including James Potter and Sirius Black – guffawing loudly as Peter looked hastily around to see who had hit him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Diana asked threateningly. Severus looked coolly up at her, taking in her expression in a calculating way.

"Parseltongue isn't a random ability, Di. It's hereditary."

Her jaw stiffened and her eyes grew cold. Severus recognized the warning signs but pressed on nevertheless.

"You don't know anything about your father. There's a good chance that you got the ability from him."

"I hardly think that means he was a Dark wizard."

"You'd have a hard time finding a Parselmouth who wasn't."

"There's one sitting right in front of you, isn't there?"

Severus had to admit she was right, and the way she was leering at him had started to make him feel uneasy. He had never seen her face so completely empty of warmth before.

"Let's talk about something else," said Lily hurriedly, noticing the tension and eager to steer the subject away from Dark Magic. "How was Quidditch this morning, Di?"

Diana appreciated Lily's attempt at relieving the tension, especially because she knew that Quidditch was not one of Lily's chief interests. She tried to appear relaxed as she answered Lily's questions, smiling at the right moments and actually starting to feel somewhat cheerful when Lily brought up Michael Farthers for what felt like the hundredth time that week. But lingering in the back of her mind were voices quite different from those she was actually hearing: not only the cold, disembodied whispers that had led her from the Quidditch pitch that morning, but the voice of Severus Snape, giving her her first and only clue to the identity of the man who was her father.


	8. Steps in the Dark

**Chapter VII**

**Rumors**

The voices remained in Diana's mind for the rest of the day, sucking all her attention away from her classes and causing several teachers, as well as Lily and Julie, to ask half-jokingly if someone had perhaps Confunded her when she wasn't looking. She always shook her head no and answered their questions obediently, but Dumbledore's words soon swam into her mind again and she returned to her thoughts as if she had never been started out of them.

By dinner she had replayed her discussion with Dumbledore, as well as the later one with Severus, in her head so many times that she was sure she had them both memorized for life. She ate in silence, looking down at her food in an attempt to avoid catching anyone's eye and getting drawn into a conversation. She had managed to do this effectively for about fifteen minutes before Lily spoke.

"Bella, are you sure you're alright?" she asked, peering anxiously at Diana's face from across the table. It was halfway hidden by her dark curls but Lily could still see her brow furrowed in thought.

"I'm fine," Diana replied automatically, then, catching Lily's concerned expression, added, "I've just had a lot to think about today, that's all." This, at least, was the complete truth.

"Well, I hate to be the bringer of bad news," said Lily, looking past Diana and frowning. "But I think you're about to have something else."

Diana turned in her seat to see what she was staring at and then turned back just as quickly. Three Slytherin boys – one of them being Severus, who looked like he would rather be back across the room – were headed towards the Gryffindor table. More specifically, they seemed to be walking straight towards _her._

"Cementire," a low voice addressed her a couple seconds later, and with an apprehensive glance at Lily she turned around to face the speaker. A tall, dark-haired Slytherin boy was standing right behind her, flanked by Severus and another boy she recognized as his friend Avery. Several people were looking curiously at them, which didn't help the situation – whatever it was, Diana got the feeling that she didn't want it brought to mass attention.

"I hear you can speak Parseltongue, Cementire."

Diana threw Severus a murderous glare before looking back at the boy, meeting his dark eyes coolly. "What of it?" she asked evenly, making an effort to emphasize how much she disliked this interruption in her tone of voice.

"Is it true?" he asked, keeping his voice low but not quite low enough to exclude the nearest onlookers from the conversation. His intense curiosity was evident in his eyes, though Diana could tell he was trying not to show it.

"That's none of your business," she sad, dropping her voice. Unfortunately, the noise level in their vicinity dropped along with her, and she could feel her fellow Gryffindors' eyes on her back. The boy seemed surprised that she didn't give him a straight answer, but composed himself quickly.

"If you are one, it's not something I would be ashamed of." The smallest smirk crossed his face as he spoke, giving him the proud look of someone who thought he was better than everyone else. Diana only continued to glare. She could see Severus trying to catch her eye but pointedly refused to look at him. She glanced at Lily, who looked highly irritated, and turned back around to face her, hoping the boys would take the hint and leave.

"The name's Daungiere – _Lucian_ Daungiere," the boy said significantly as he saw her turning her back to him. He held out his hand in a vain attempt to be friendly, but Diana only raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms firmly. He withdrew his hand awkwardly after a moment, mumbled something about seeing her later, and walked back to the Slytherin table looking slightly dejected. Diana sighed heavily and put her head down on the table.

"It's okay, Diana, he was just curious –" Lily began, but was cut off by several voices asking Diana if what Lucian had said was true.

"Are you _really _a Parselmouth Diana?"

"He's so full of it, you're in Gryffindor, that's ridiculous!"

"Where the hell could he have heard that from?"

"Di, it's not true, is it?"

"Come on, let's get out of here," said a voice in Diana's ear, and she was only too happy to be led out of the Great Hall, trying her best to dodge stares and look natural. It wasn't until they reached the entrance hall that she looked around to see who her savior was.

"Thanks a lot Julie," she breathed in relief as they headed up the marble staircase on their way to the common room. "You're a lifesaver."

"You looked like you needed some air," said Julie, smiling. "I can't believe anyone would start that kind of rumor. You, a Parselmouth, what a wild idea!" She said this lightly enough but her curiosity was evident when she looked to Diana for confirmation. She caught Diana's troubled eyes and her expression changed to one of concern. "It _is _just a wild idea, isn't it? Di?"

Diana didn't answer immediately but after a few moments decided to tell the truth. "No, it's not," she said flatly. "I'm a Parselmouth, and I don't know why, but that's just the way it is." She looked up at Julie expecting to see shock and judgment, but was surprised when Julie smiled, took her arm, and led her to the common room. Julie decided Diana had had enough shock and judgment for one night – and she had a way of saving her surprise for later, after her friend was alone in her cozy bed with a nice cup of hot cocoa from the kitchens.

As Diana had morbidly suspected, the rumor that she was a Parselmouth was all over the school by the next day. Several people in the common room approached her asking if it was true the moment she emerged from her dormitory, and she overheard more than one conversation about it on her way through the Great Hall at breakfast, including one about how she supposedly kept a poisonous snake in her dorm room. She wasn't entirely sure why it was such a big deal to everyone, but nor did she care – when she found that she couldn't even eat her toast in peace she stormed over to the Slytherin table and grabbed Severus by the shoulder. Several of his friends snickered. Diana saw Lucian Daungiere staring at her and fought back the urge to start shouting in front of the entire Great Hall.

"_Can I talk to you?" _she said through gritted teeth, and Severus sighed and nodded in a resigned way as they left the Great Hall. He had seen this coming and thought it best to get it over with. Diana had a strong urge to pull out her wand when she heard a wolf whistle behind them, but kept her temper in check and led Severus through the entrance hall and into an empty classroom. As soon as she had closed the door she turned on him, opened her mouth with every intention of shouting at him, then thought better of it and closed it again. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just tell me _why _you felt the need to spread that around." She had a sinking feeling that this was exactly what Dumbledore had advised her _not_ to allow to happen.

Severus immediately started to defend himself. "I didn't know you cared this much, Di. I thought you were excited when you told me, and if it was supposed to be a secret you should have let me know. It's not like you told me not to…."

"I shouldn't _have _to tell you not to. It may not be a secret, Sev, but that doesn't mean you have to go tell all your Slytherin friends!"

"I only told Mulciber and Avery, don't blame me for the rest of them."

"You know full well that if Mulciber and Avery didn't know, none of the others would either."

"I don't see why this is such a big deal," said Severus, taking a different tactic. "I mean, who cares if people know you're a Parselmouth? It's a unique ability, you should be proud of it! Do you have any idea how rare this is?"

"I'm not proud of the fact that it's associated with Dark Magic, and I don't care how rare it is."

Severus stopped, apparently debating with himself about whether or not to say what he was thinking. Before he could decide, however, the bell sounded and a stampede of students could be heard moving up from the Great Hall on their way to morning classes.

"Go on," Diana said dismally. "I'll just wait here until the halls are clearer."

Severus looked again like he wanted to say something but after a moment he opened the door and left in silence. Diana waited a few minutes before following him, hoping desperately that she wouldn't meet anyone on her way to class. From the shape the rumors were taking she thought anyone meeting her alone in the corridor would be more likely to run for it than bombard her with questions, but neither encounter was really welcome; she didn't need another excuse to lose her temper. She had almost made it all the way to Transfiguration when a voice sounded behind her.

"Diana! Hey, Di, wait up!"

She groaned inwardly and turned to see who had called her name, but was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar, smiling face coming down the corridor instead of an invasively curious stranger. Michael Farthers was heading down the hall towards her, face flushed and slightly out of breath, as if he had been running. He brushed his dark hair out of his eyes as he reached her and looked at her sheepishly, putting his hands on his thighs while he caught his breath.

"I… er… I heard you've… been having a… a bit of a rough time lately," he said awkwardly, looking at her with what he hoped was a friendly expression of concern.

"You heard right," she said, smiling feebly. He straightened to his full height, and Diana saw that he was a good four inches taller than she was. She had never really noticed that before.

"I – well, to tell you the truth Di, I was kind of wondering if you were okay. I saw those Slytherin boys harassing you at dinner yesterday, and everyone's been talking about… well, you know." He gave her a sympathetic smile.

Diana was a little surprised at this friendly gesture, but appreciated it nonetheless, especially because he hadn't once asked her if what people were saying was really true. "I'm fine," she said, genuinely smiling this time. "It'll all blow over soon, and if Lucian Daungiere can take a hint I won't be seeing him again."

"Good," said Michael, returning her smile. "I'm glad you're alright. Well…" he shifted his footing and gave her another sheepish glance. "I should probably get to class."

"Yeah, me too."

"See you around, Di."

She made it to class just as the bell rang, somehow no longer caring about the stares and whispers that followed her all the way to her seat.

It was almost a week before Diana could show her face in the Great Hall without being stared at or whispered about, and although she knew that nothing was entirely forgotten, she was grateful that she could finally eat her meals in peace. Michael had taken to sitting by her during at least one meal every day, which helped her to ignore most of the gossip – although, in the case of some of her friends, it only served to create more.

Diana had eventually told Lily the truth, and she accepted it without judgment. Diana had no hope of expressing how grateful she was for this, but hoped that the giant hug she had abruptly given Lily would suffice – she was not someone who usually gave out hugs.

By now, most people seemed to believe that her Parselmouth ability was nothing more than a wild rumor, and she preferred it that way. This did not, however, discourage the efforts of Lucian Daungiere, who seemed to have been talking to someone who knew the answer for sure. Diana sincerely hoped Severus wasn't responsible for this one, because Lucian was starting to get very annoying. He had not only taken to interrupting her mealtimes, he approached her almost every time he saw her. On this particular afternoon she, Lily, Julie, and Mary MacDonald were passing some free time by the lake when Diana spotted the familiar figure coming toward them.

"Oh _no,_" she groaned, looking helplessly at her friends and ignoring his shouted greeting. Lily gave her a sympathetic smile as he drew closer, for once coming to see her without any Slytherin friends behind him. She glanced around, sure that they could not be far, and saw them almost immediately: a group of Slytherin boys, Severus included, stood about fifty yards off, looking very amused about something. She caught sight of Avery, who was looking at Diana as if she were a prize jewel among pebbles. Diana found his stare distinctly creepy and grudgingly directed her attention to Daungiere, praying it would be over soon.

"Hello Cementire," he said, trying to sound friendly. He nodded curtly to her friends, something he had never taken the trouble to do before. Diana immediately grew suspicious.

"What do you want?" she asked roughly, making it clear once again that his presence was not wanted. The smile faded from his eyes, although he made a valiant effort to keep it on his mouth. She noticed that both his hands were behind his back.

"I saw these growing in Greenhouse One and I thought of you."

From behind his back he pulled six or seven lovely blue flowers. They were shaped like bells and as he held them out to her they made a gentle tinkling sound, as if they really were little bells that had sprung from the ground. Diana took them automatically, an expression of complete astonishment on her face.

"Because of those bubbles you're so fond of conjuring," he clarified, watching her anxiously as she gaped dumbly at him. Several of those tinkling bubbles were even now migrating across the lake, so far happily unhindered by the Giant Squid.

"Wow – these are beautiful – thank you," she said quietly, completely bewildered at his strange change in behavior. This seemed to be enough for him, because he turned around and headed back to the Slytherins, a happy smile on his face. Diana turned to look at her friends, whose expressions were mirrors of her own.

"Pinch me, Mary," she said to Mary, who was closest. Mary giggled and gave her a tiny pinch on the arm, which hurt just enough to convince Diana that she wasn't actually dreaming.

"Oh, how _sweet," _said Julie earnestly, gazing at the flowers in Diana's hand. "That's _adorable, _Diana, it really is!"

"Especially," said Lily, smirking, "because I know for a fact that there are no Bellblooms in Greenhouse One."


	9. Occlumency

**Chapter VIII**

**Steps in the Dark**

That night in the dormitory Diana placed her flowers on her bedside table, held in a glass vase she had conjured and filled with water. She still wasn't entirely sure what to think – she had a strong suspicion that Daungiere was only interested in her because she was a Parselmouth – but she had to admit that the Bellblooms were a very pleasant thing to listen to as well as to look at. She got into bed with a dreamy expression on her face, listening to the quiet tinkling of the bells, which was strangely soothing….

The sound of the Bellblooms followed her into her dreams, playing faintly in the background as she ran through a dimly lit castle, hissing to something that followed just behind her….

She couldn't be certain where the dream ended and reality began, but soon she really was running through a darkened castle corridor, following a hissing voice that told her to come closer, and closer, and closer…. There was no thought in her mind other than to follow the voice, for there was something she must do, something very important…. The anticipation and excitement was rising in her chest again, giving her the energy to run faster, and though her lungs were burning she could barely feel it, as if the sensation belonged to another world entirely….

"_Di? _Di, what are you doing? Di!"

Something grabbed her arm and she turned around murderously to see who dared to interrupt her on her quest... her wand was out, the incantation on her lips, before she realized it was –

"Severus?"

She gasped and dropped her wand as she realized what she had been about to do. The face of her friend seemed to clear her vision, which once again had become blackened on the sides, and she looked at him in horror. Severus was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity, concern, and fear – he had never seen rage like that in anyone's face, and Diana was one of the last people he would ever expect it from. He cautiously picked up her wand and handed it back to her.

"Severus I –" she stammered, taking her wand and looking at it as if it had betrayed her. "I don't know what came over me – I'm sorry – I can't – but hang on, Sev –" she glanced out a nearby window, and saw that the moon was out, shining full and white upon the castle. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized where they were: out of bed in the middle of the night and standing in the center of a wide corridor on the second floor into which a teacher could emerge at any moment and see them plainly. Severus seemed to realize this at the same instant she did, because he grabbed her arm again and pulled her into a nearby deserted classroom. He shut and locked the door with a charm before turning back to her, his incredulous face bathed in moonlight from another window.

"I suppose you know I'm going to ask you the obvious question," he said warily, clearly still on his guard. "What – what were you _doing?"_

"I was sleepwalking," said Diana resolutely, remembering Dumbledore's request that she tell no one about the voices.

"No you weren't, Di, or at least that's not all you were doing."

He could be remarkably perceptive sometimes, Diana thought ruefully, even without Legilimency. She decided to ignore his question and instead asked one of her own.

"What are _you _doing out of bed, then?" she asked, frowning.

"Well, before I saw you running like a madwoman down the corridor…" He gave the door an anxious glance and lowered his voice conspiratorially.

"You know the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade?" he asked, forgetting his curiosity about what she was doing out of bed and barely containing his excitement. Diana nodded.

"I know how to get in."

Severus watched with pleasure the effect this news had on his friend, and he started towards the door.

"Follow me," he whispered, and Diana was reminded unpleasantly of the voices she had been hearing only moments ago. "I can show you. And…" he said, grinning nastily, "I think we may find more than an empty _shack_ when we get there."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just come with me, Di, you'll see. I've been telling you all along that there's something odd about that Remus Lupin –"

"Sev, I really don't think this is a good idea –"

"Scared?" he said, dark eyes glittering. "You're the one in Gryffindor, aren't you supposed to be _brave?_"

"There's a difference between being brave and being stupid!" she hissed back, but he had already opened the door and slipped out. With a moan of exasperation she followed him down the corridor, hugging the walls and trying to stay quiet, pushing the disembodied voices to the back of her mind as she tried to reason with him.

"Sev, come on, this is idiotic!" she whispered urgently. "Who cares what Remus Lupin's up to? It's none of your business!"

"If you think I'm going to pass up a chance to see what goes on in there, you're insane."

"What do you mean, 'what goes on in there'? Who told you how to get in, anyway?"

"I saw Madam Pomfrey leading Lupin across the grounds to the Whomping Willow tree the other night, so I know he's up to something."

"The Whomping Willow? But who on earth told you how to get into the Shrieking Shack?" she repeated. "How do you know your information is correct?"

Severus pointedly ignored this question, and Diana was about to ask again when he held out his hand and stopped in his tracks, listening hard. Diana yanked him behind a fortunately placed tapestry which she knew concealed a small alcove as she caught the sound of footsteps coming down the corridor. They waited until the sound died away, hardly daring to breathe, before cautiously peering out from behind the tapestry. They were on the first floor now, near the marble staircase. Severus made to exit the alcove but Diana grabbed his arm firmly.

"Listen, Sev," she said seriously. "I don't like this. It doesn't feel right. I think we should just both go back to our common rooms and get –"

"That's not going to happen Di," he said fiercely, yanking his arm away. "If you want to go back, fine, but I'm going to find out once and for all why Lupin's been going in there –"

"But Sev –"

"_No, _Diana!" he snarled. "There's a reason he's been keeping this a secret, there's a _reason_ he doesn't want anyone to know! Everyone thinks he and his idiot friendsare _brilliant, _but they're hiding something – and I'm going to find out what it is!" His face contorted into a look of loathing as he spoke, an expression he reserved for only one other person, and it was not Remus Lupin. Diana suspected that if Lupin wasn't one of James Potter's best friends Severus wouldn't be doing this. She looked helplessly at him, trying to think of something that would convince him to go back but drawing a complete blank.

Severus listened once more for sounds from the entrance hall before leaving Diana behind the tapestry in silence. She debated for several moments before her own curiosity got the better of her and she followed him, trying hard to convince herself that she was only concerned for his safety but knowing deep down that she wanted to know what waited in the Shrieking Shack almost as much as he did. She caught up with Severus just as he reached the massive double doors that led out to the grounds – and they were already open.

"Sev, there's definitely something wrong here –" Diana began, but he ignored her and continued out the doors. She followed him, but as soon as she set foot on the grounds a hand grabbed her around the waist and pulled her behind the open door on her left. A hand closed over her mouth to stifle her small shriek of surprise, and Severus' voice hissed in her ear: "Someone's coming."

Diana listened hard and heard soft footsteps on the grass. Severus released her and peered cautiously out from behind the door for a second before slipping back behind it, heart racing. Fortunately the door opened outward, so whoever it was couldn't see them unless they closed the doors from the outside. Diana found herself praying that that didn't turn out to be the case.

"It's Madam Pomfrey!" Severus whispered excitedly. "She must have just taken Lupin – he's in there _right now!"_

Diana bit back her reply due to the fact that Madam Pomfrey was closer than she was comfortable with, and they waited in silence as she re-entered the castle, closing the entrance hall doors behind her. Diana heard the ominous sound of the doors being locked and groaned inwardly – the prospect of spending the night on the grounds was not one that she found particularly appealing.

"Come on," said Severus, his dark eyes alight with anticipation. "It's over here."

He led her across the grounds, running at a pace that required no small effort to keep up with. His black robes flew out behind him, making him appear almost bat-like as he sprinted excitedly toward his goal. They skirted the few patches of golden light that still shone from the castle's windows to avoid being seen by anyone inside, although the fact that they were bathed in moonlight made this almost unnecessary – anyone who happened to be gazing out their window would be able to see their dark shapes moving across the grounds.

At length they reached a gnarled old willow tree at the far end of the grounds that Diana recognized immediately as the infamous Whomping Willow. She had seen it before, though the stories about what happened to people who got too near were enough to ensure she kept her distance. But tonight she followed Severus as he advanced cautiously toward it, drawing his wand as he did so. It may have been just a trick of the light, but Diana thought she saw several branches move in ways they should not have done on a windless night.

"_Wingardium Leviosa," _Severus muttered, and a long stick that had been lying on the ground near them flew into the air. He guided it using his wand, moving it closer to the tree until it hit a gnarled old knot at the base. The tree seemed to stiffen into a state of unnatural stillness. Severus looked up at it and then approached cautiously, looking exhilarated. He was staring at a small hole right next to the knot, just big enough for someone to fit through. He looked at his friend expectantly.

"Coming?" he asked with almost maniacal cheerfulness.

Diana hesitated, considering the feeling of uneasiness that had been steadily growing in her gut. After a few moments, during which Severus' impatience only grew, she shook her head. "Actually, I think I'll just wait back here so I can, you know, run for help if you get torn to shreds," she said sardonically. "Seriously, Severus, _think _about this. I know what you think Lupin is, and to be honest there's a good chance you may be right, which is why it is _incredibly _stupid of you to go in there. _Please _show some sense!"

"I'm going, Di, with or without you," he said coolly. "So are you coming or not?"

Diana crossed her arms and frowned at him, debating about whether or not she should pull out her wand and stop him from going in there by force for his own good. But before she could reach a decision he was moving toward the hole, smirking in a very Slytherin-like way.

"Suit yourself," he said as he reached it, and in a moment he was gone.

Diana felt strangely exposed all alone on the darkened grounds. She pulled out her wand and held it over her head, muttering a Disillusionment Charm, and immediately felt like something cold was dripping down her back under her dressing gown. Sure that she wouldn't be seen by anyone unless she saw them first, Diana sat uneasily down on the grass to wait.

It was not long before she heard footsteps moving quickly across the grounds from the direction of the entrance hall. Diana froze, glancing around anxiously for the source of the noise, but before she could find it, it stopped.

She stared in the direction she thought the footsteps had come from, uneasily drawing her wand, although if they had belonged to a teacher it would hardly do her any good. She heard something small scurrying across the grass and saw a little animal hurriedly moving toward her. She peered at it as it came closer and determined that it was a rat, moving quickly in the direction of the Willow and looking, if it was possible for a rat to display emotion, oddly anxious. Diana was sure the noise she had heard had been made by something larger, however, and stayed still.

The rat ran right past her and approached the same knot near the stump that Severus had hit with the long stick. When it reached the stump it stopped, stared for a moment, then glanced around as if it were looking for something – or someone. Its eyes lighted on the spot where Diana sat, Disillusioned, the sense of unease mounting in her gut. The rat stared at the space she occupied for a few moments before giving a tiny squeak and running back the way it had come. She stood up, wand at the ready, and watched it run off – _and vanish into thin air._

Diana stared disbelievingly at the place where it had disappeared, trying to guess how it could have done so. She had been among wizards long enough now to be fairly certain that rats couldn't use magic, and even if this one had seemed rather strange she concluded that there must be someone else there. Perhaps they had Vanished the rat? But how were they invisible themselves – another Disillusionment Charm? But no, that couldn't be it, because there would be a disturbance in the air, and she could see nothing there at all.

Suddenly she heard hoarse whispers issuing from the place where she thought the invisible person must be standing. She crept closer, trying to make out the words, but before she had gone more than a few paces something – or rather, someone – appeared out of thin air.

James Potter was racing toward the Whomping Willow, an expression of utter horror on his face. He raced right past her, either not knowing or not caring that she was there, and practically dived into the hole at the base of the tree. As he was running Diana heard someone else shout his name, and a moment later Sirius Black appeared from the same spot, along with a very nervous-looking Peter Pettigrew. Her shock at their sudden emergence vanished when she saw the looks on their faces, bone white and terrified.

"Sirius, what's happening?" she asked anxiously, stepping toward them. They seemed to already know she was there, judging by the absence of surprise on their faces when she spoke. Sirius looked like he had seen a ghost.

"James went in there… he actually went in there… after _Snape_…." Sirius said disbelievingly. It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that he refrained from using Severus' hated nickname.

"Where is 'there,' Sirius?" Diana asked, dreading the answer.

"The Shrieking Shack…." said Sirius quietly. Diana slowly turned her head to look at the hole, mimicking Sirius and not taking her eyes off it.

"And what… what exactly is _in _the Shrieking Shack?"

Sirius took a deep breath and Pettigrew shuddered visibly.

"A fully fledged werewolf."

Diana's skin turned cold, and in the treacherous light of the full moon she looked as if she were carved from ice. She could hardly seem to remember how to breathe as she stared at the inky blackness of the hole where her friend had disappeared. _Please come back, _she thought desperately, _Please let him come back…._

Horrible images seeped into her mind as she waited in terror, images of Severus opening a door in the Shrieking Shack and being mercilessly torn to shreds by the terrible, bloodthirsty beast that was Remus Lupin on every other day… she heard the screams as if they were real, as if she were really there watching her best friend die and could do nothing to stop it… she heard the cry of the werewolf as it gloated over its kill and saw the limp body of Severus Snape falling to the ground, eyes rolling in the back of his head, hitting the floor with a final, ominous _thunk…._

And then, miraculously, two dark shapes appeared in the opening. James emerged first, the usual smirk completely absent from his dirt-smudged face, and Sirius let out a cry of joy that Diana thought was loud enough to wake everyone in the castle. Severus came out second, looking even more disheveled and dirty than James. Diana Disillusioned herself, deciding that the charm was of little use now, and ran toward him. She pulled him into a hug that seemed to only intensify the shocked expression on his face, and he awkwardly put his arms around her until she let go. He felt humiliated, wanting nothing more than to get away from his friends and enemies alike.

Diana pulled away from him and gave him a questioning look. "I'll tell you later," he mumbled. "Let's go back to the castle…."

Diana glanced at Sirius, who was beaming and clapping James on the back, and Pettigrew, who stood awkwardly to one side and watched the other two with what was unmistakably deep admiration. James caught her looking at them and broke away from his friend's embrace, coming toward her with Sirius close behind. Diana saw Severus stiffen and sincerely hoped that there wasn't going to be a duel. If the castle wasn't awake by now, that would certainly do the trick.

"Alright, Di?" asked James, and she nodded. He then turned to Severus with – and this surprised Diana greatly – a look of genuine concern on his face. Severus glared back at him with malevolent hatred, making no effort to disguise his loathing.

"Alright, Snape?" asked James evenly, staring determinedly into Severus' black eyes.

"I'm perfectly fine, and I would still be perfectly fine if you hadn't come along trying to act the _hero_," snarled Severus. "Don't go around thinking that I owe you, _Potter." _He spat the name as if it were a curse.

"James just saved your _life," _growled Sirius dangerously, drawing his wand and stepping forward to stand beside his friend. "You ungrateful little –"

"That will do, Mr. Black."

All five of them whirled around and froze at the exact same moment: Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Slughorn stood behind them, as well as Madam Pomfrey. All wore expressions of extreme displeasure, making how they had managed to approach unheard the least of Diana's concerns.

"All of you will now come with me," said Professor Dumbledore gravely, and no one dared to object as they trudged back up to the school in silence.


	10. Paper Ghosts

**Chapter IX**

**Occlumency**

For the second time in just as many weeks, Diana found herself in Dumbledore's office.

She was standing across the desk from him once again, looking shamefully at the ground and trying to ignore the feeling that Dumbledore's eyes were x-raying her. The only sounds in the room were the constant whirring and clicking noises of the various silver instruments sitting on little tables and shelves, and the quiet snores of the sleeping portraits on the walls. Everyone else had already left the office, leaving her alone with the Headmaster.

Events had unfolded much as she had expected when the five students had entered the office behind their teachers: McGonagall had immediately started shouting about how irresponsible and careless they were, taken fifty points from everyone in Gryffindor, given them all detention for a week, and threatened to expel them if they were caught doing anything like this ever again. Professor Slughorn did much the same to Severus, who was in his house and therefore his responsibility, although he was considerably less vicious about it than his colleague. Only when his teachers had gotten the anger out of their systems did Dumbledore calmly ask the mortified students to explain themselves, and James had immediately launched into the story.

"… so you see, we knew Snape was going to try and get into the Shrieking Shack tonight and we were out trying to stop him before he ran into a fully-fledged werewolf!" James had finished earnestly.

"And did it not occur to you to inform an adult?" Dumbledore had asked, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly. "Myself, for instance, or Madam Pomfrey?"

When James did not answer Dumbledore had turned to Severus. "Is it true that you were attempting to enter the Shrieking Shack tonight, Severus?" he had asked calmly.

Severus had turned furiously to Sirius. "I wouldn't have if _Black _hadn't told me how to get in!" he had snarled. "I saw his little friend _Lupin _going in there with Madam Pomfrey once, and he _knew_ I've been wanting to find out why he disappears every month so–"

"And _did _you find out why he disappears every month?" Dumbledore had interrupted, looking stern.

"He's a werewolf!" Severus had cried triumphantly. "I saw him, I knew –"

"I must ask you to tell no one what you saw," Dumbledore had said, looking even more stern. "Remus Lupin is a werewolf, but his secret is not yours to tell. The poor boy needs no more harassment."

Severus had fallen silent, fuming once more.

"Do I have your word?" Dumbledore had asked, looking at Severus intently with his bright blue, x-raying eyes.

"Yes, sir," Severus had mumbled, looking furiously at James and Sirius. Pettigrew had been hiding behind them, and he had cringed visibly under Severus' look of contempt.

"I must ask the same of you, Diana," Dumbledore had said, finally turning to her.

"My word," Diana had replied earnestly, determined to get back on Dumbledore's good side.

"Good," Dumbledore had said, changing his tone suddenly so that he now sounded as if he were discussing the weather. "Now I suggest we all return to our beds and get some sleep. Except you, Diana," he had said as she had turned to leave. The others had filed out of the office, leaving Diana where she now found herself: alone with Dumbledore once again.

"I still have no explanation as to why you are out of bed tonight," he said after a pause, peering at her from behind his half-moon spectacles. For the first time since entering the office, Diana remembered the voice.

"It was that voice again," she said quietly. "It was in my dreams."

"And you were on your way to see me when you ran into Severus on his way to the grounds?"

"No – well, not exactly." She took a deep breath. "When I woke up it was still talking to me, and I got out of bed and started walking through the castle…." She paused for a moment, searching for the words, and Dumbledore waited patiently. "It – it was like I couldn't control what I was doing, or more like it never _occurred _to me to control it while it was happening," she said finally. "The same as last time. Only this time I ran into Severus, instead of Slughorn, and the voices just disappeared again." She looked hesitantly up at Dumbledore, but relaxed when she saw his familiar calm expression. "He told me what he was doing and I tried to convince him to go back, but he wouldn't listen to me so I went with him instead, to make sure he was okay."

"Am I correct in assuming that this is the first time you have heard the voices since our last meeting?"

"Yes, Professor," said Diana, glad to be off the subject of what had happened on the grounds. Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully and sat behind his desk, motioning for Diana to do the same in the chair across from him. He put his fingertips together and spoke quietly, seeming to consider every word carefully.

"Diana, I do not know what has been causing these voices," he said. "However, I believe I know of a way to prevent them from troubling you any longer." Diana waited patiently as he drew his wand from inside his robes.

"I would like for you to learn Occlumency," he said, and Diana smiled for the first time that evening.

"I take it you already know what that is?" Dumbledore said in response to her wide grin.

"Yes, sir. I read about it in a book on Legilimency, although I've never tried practicing it."

"You have been studying Legilimency?" asked Dumbledore curiously. Diana nodded happily, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. Diana was slightly surprised when he didn't ask her why – but she was used to surprises where Dumbledore was concerned.

"That should make Occlumency much simpler for you," Dumbledore said, standing. "As a matter of fact, I think you are already very well suited for it – if I remember correctly, you showed considerable talent for the art before you even set foot in Hogwarts."

There was no need for Diana to tell him that he _did_ remember correctly; they both already knew.

"I would like to begin immediately, if you have no objection."

Diana was (again) surprised by this, but although it was late she couldn't have slept even if she had been tired. "None, Professor," she said, standing to mimic Dumbledore.

"Good," said Dumbledore, and he pointed his wand at her. "I am going to try to enter your mind," he said, in the same tone he had used before that made it sound as if he were talking about the weather. "I would like you to attempt to prevent me from doing so in any way you can." She raised her wand but he shook his head. "No, I do not think your wand will help you, Diana," he said. "In your particular case, there seems to be no visible spell cast when your mind is invaded. Blocking me with a charm will not help you in deterring your elusive enemy."

Diana stowed her wand in her robes and tried to concentrate as he pointed his wand at her. No sound issued from his mouth, but suddenly the office disappeared and flashes of her own memories were flying before her eyes: the day she arrived at the hospital, alone and lost; the day Dumbledore came to tell her she was a witch; her first journey on the Hogwarts Express….

And then she was back in the office again. She was sitting back in the chair she had occupied earlier, and guessed that she had fallen backward. She got up slowly to face Dumbledore again.

"This time I would like you to focus on something in the room," said Dumbledore calmly. "Let it block out all other thoughts; have it be your anchor to the present."

Diana nodded and looked around the office. Her eyes caught the magnificent bird that she had seen the last time she was here, which was by far the most distinctive thing in the entire room, and she focused on it with all her might. She felt something tugging at her mind, as if trying to pull her backwards and into her own thoughts, but she allowed the bird to eclipse everything else, blocking out fleeting glimpses of memories she did not allow herself to recognize. She was concentrating so hard that she did not even realize the tugging sensation had stopped until Dumbledore called her name.

"Diana, that was very, very good," he said, giving her the twinkling smile that only Dumbledore could give. Her ability to focus so completely was almost unnerving, even to Dumbledore – but then, she had been practicing Legilimency already, and who knew what else.

"Thank you, Professor," Diana said, grinning. She looked over at the bird again, which was watching her almost as intently as she had been focusing on it.

"Sir – what is that?" she asked, gesturing to the beautiful animal. Dumbledore smiled again and walked over to stroke its red and orange plumage. It let out a cooing sound that was comparable to a cat's purr.

"Fawkes is a phoenix, Diana," said Dumbledore fondly. "They truly are the most magnificent creatures." Fawkes warbled quietly and Dumbledore chuckled. "But I think it is time for bed, for all of us," he said, straightening and turning back to Diana. Fawkes put his head under his wing and Diana couldn't help laughing; it was almost as if the phoenix had understood what Dumbledore was saying.

"Before you retire to your bed, not only tonight but every night, I would like you to attempt to clear your mind of all thoughts and emotions," Dumbledore said. "I think this will allow you to sleep unmolested."

Diana nodded and he continued. "I would like to see you again for your next Occlumency lesson one week from today, on October the twenty-fourth at eight o'clock in the evening."

"Professor, have you any idea what has been causing this?" Diana asked abruptly. Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm afraid I have only theories, all of them possible but none probable," he said. "But whatever the cause, I do not think it is something either of us wishes be allowed to continue."

Diana nodded again and turned to leave, but Dumbledore spoke once more:

"I do not have to tell you, Diana, that this is not something I wish you to discuss with anyone but myself."

"No one, Professor?" she asked timidly. "People were already wondering what I was up to last time I was here, and I don't like making up stories."

"You surprise me, Diana. I thought you would have no trouble finding a reason to have been gone."

"I _did _find a reason," she said earnestly. "But I don't like lying to my friends."

Dumbledore gave her a very curious look before smiling once more. "Again you surprise me," he said quietly, almost as if to himself. "Very well, you may tell only your very best and closest companions. No more than two or three others, I think, and make sure they are sworn to secrecy."

"Thank you sir," said Diana gratefully, thinking immediately of Severus and Lily. "Good night."

Diana left the office lost in thought. It may have been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn she saw a tear glinting in Dumbledore's eye.


	11. Aspiring for Evil

**Chapter XI**

**Aspiring for Evil**

"I still can't believe I saw you snogging Lucian Daungiere," said Severus, shaking his head in disbelief as he, Lily, and Diana sat doing homework in the central courtyard the next day. He was thumbing through a battered Potions book as he spoke, occasionally stopping to make a note in the margins or add something to the essay he was trying to complete.

"And _I _still can't believe you found out you have an uncle!" said Lily excitedly, looking up from her essay on the Draught of Peace. "You've got to try and find him, Di!"

"I don't know," said Diana doubtfully. "There must have been some reason why I was left at that hospital instead of going to live with family. Maybe he doesn't want to see me."

"Maybe," said Lily thoughtfully. "But there may have been a different reason. Besides, you have nothing to lose by just trying to contact him."

"Your owl could probably find him if you wanted to send him a letter," said Severus, not looking up from his book.

"I hadn't thought of that," said Diana, slightly embarrassed at her oversight. "I suppose I could at least try. And maybe," she added excitedly, "I could ask Dumbledore about him, too. I have my last Occlumency lesson this Thursday, so I could bring it up then. If anyone knows something, Dumbledore does."

"Good point," said Severus, turning back to his essay. "_Or_ you could ask Lucian to help you find out about him," he muttered, sniggering.

Diana frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that he has a strange way of finding things out when he wants to. Surely you've noticed."

"He's resourceful," said Diana loyally, flipping through her Potions book.

"Oh, please," said Severus. "He's _rich, _that's all he is."

"Is that a crime?"

"No, but Di, you don't know Lucian like I do." Severus looked up from his essay, speaking more seriously now. "I would watch out for him if I were you. I've known him ever since our first year and he can be, well… devious."

"I've seen nothing to make me think he is anything other than a gentleman," said Diana loftily, pointedly not looking at him.

"That _is_ a bit odd though," said Lily, copying Severus and adopting a serious tone herself. "I know you're very taken with him, Di, but no one's that perfect. Don't you think he's a little too good to be true?"

"No."

Lily sighed heavily, and out of the corner of her eye Diana saw her exchange a glance with Severus. "Just _please _be careful, Di," she said earnestly. "There's a reason he's in Slytherin."

"Diana, I must remark once again that you have an incredible talent at your disposal," Professor Dumbledore said at the close of their lesson on Thursday. Diana smiled appreciatively – not only had the voices been unable to penetrate her mind for almost two months, she had just managed to hold her own against the Headmaster's continuous mental assaults for two entire minutes before finally giving in.

"Thank you, sir," she said, beaming exhaustedly.

"But forgive me, Diana," he said, leaning forward over his desk. "For I, being the rather accomplished Legilimens that I am, could not help but notice that there is something you wish to discuss with me."

Diana had long since recognized Dumbledore's honesty as one of the things that made him such an extraordinary individual, and she smiled.

"You're right, Professor, as always," she said. "I wanted to ask you about my family."

"Ah, your family," said Dumbledore, putting his fingertips together. When he did not speak again Diana continued.

"I recently found that I may have an uncle still alive somewhere," she said. "Lucian took me to the _Daily Prophet _office in Hogsmeade and there was an article –" she paused and took a deep breath, struggling to keep her voice even. "It said that – that my mother had a brother named Marcus."

"Lucian Daungiere, of Slytherin?" asked Dumbledore curiously. He chuckled quietly when Diana nodded, peering at her closely over his half-moon spectacles.

"The _Prophet _was correct, Diana," he said. "Your mother did have a brother named Marcus, and I believe he is still alive."

Diana's eyes widened eagerly. "Do you know anything about him, sir?" she asked hopefully.

"That I do not, or at least, I know very little," said Dumbledore regretfully. "I lost contact with him shortly after your mother's disappearance."

"Do you think – do you think he knows I exist?"

"I cannot say," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "I think there is a good chance he does not."

Diana nodded silently and bit her lip, looking at the floor and trying to chase away the tears that were threatening to form in her eyes. Dumbledore regarded her kindly, as only Dumbledore could do, and she soon found her voice again.

"The article said that – that he kept looking for her long after the Aurors had called off the search," she said quietly.

"Marcus loved your mother, Diana," said Dumbledore gently. "She meant a great deal to him. And I think, if you wanted to contact him, he would be glad to hear from her daughter."

Diana looked up in surprise. "You really think I should write to him?" she asked.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore, smiling and looking slightly wistful. "He is family, after all."

Late that night, Diana sat in the darkened Gryffindor common room, staring intently at a blank piece of parchment and trying to decide what to say. Her quill had been poised to write for several minutes, but the right words didn't seem to want to come. She had waited for everyone else to go to bed so she could concentrate fully on the letter, but she now wished that she had tried to write it with Lily or Julie still around to ask for advice.

After several hours of throwing pieces of ink-stained parchment into the fire and starting over, she decided to simply tell the truth.

_Dear Marcus Cementire,_

_ My name is Diana. You may not know who I am, but I believe I am your sister's daughter – your niece. I am currently fifteen years old and in my fourth year at Hogwarts school, and I have just learned of your existence. I don't exactly know where to go from here – but you're the only living family member I know of. I want to get to know you, if that's all right with you._

_ Diana Cementire_

_P.S. The owl's name is Larissa._

Thinking it was rather simple but deciding it was the best she could do, Diana folded the short letter neatly. A glance out the window revealed it to be early morning, and she realized that she was very tired. She had been so focused on her letter that she had hardly given sleep a thought, and it was beginning to catch up with her. She guessed that she had less than two hours in which to sleep before classes began – if she was going to class today at all. But first, she had to deliver the letter. She found that she was possessed with a strange sense of paranoia, as if something were going to happen to it if she didn't send it away with Larissa right now.

Tucking the letter into her robes, Diana left the Gryffindor common room and headed for the Owlery. It struck her, as she was walking, that she had never seen Hogwarts this empty in daylight. The beams of early sunlight that shone through the windows gave the ancient castle a serene and mystical beauty that Diana found mesmerizing. And it was so peaceful….

"She's a fucking _Mudblood_! She doesn't know anything!"

With a heavy groan, Diana realized she recognized the voice that had cut into her moment of serenity. _Mulciber,_ she thought grimly. _And I think I know who he's talking about._

She heard another, quieter voice, and out of sheer curiosity (and maybe a little foolishness) she began to move toward the room she heard it coming from. The door was closed and she couldn't make out any words, but she thought she recognized the second voice as Severus'.

"You're either with us all the way or not at all," she heard Mulciber say when Severus finished talking. "Which is it?"

"I'm _with_ you!" Severus hissed, louder this time. "I _want_ to do this! But I don't see why you care who I spend my time with, so long as it's not some slimy prat like James P –"

"Because Mudbloods are _impure_, Severus!" Diana heard a third voice say, and her heart leapt into her throat when she recognized whose it was. "We've been over this! They are a disease – nothing more! The more you expose yourself to them, the more influence they gain – and the weaker you become. The weaker our _world_ becomes."

There was silence, and Diana could feel white hot rage beginning to claw its way to the surface of her mind. _How _dare_ they! _She was about to throw open the door and vent her rage in the form of her nastiest hexes when the sounds of other students making their way to an early breakfast began to echo from down the hall. Apparently the boys in the classroom heard it too, because Diana immediately heard Avery suggest that they adjourn their meeting. She started to wonder what exactly they had been meeting for when the door opened, and only a hastily performed Disillusionment Charm saved her from being spotted behind the door. If any of the room's occupants had been more perceptive, she would have been seen, but as it was they seemed far too focused on nonchalantly leaving the classroom than looking for possible eavesdroppers. Diana saw that the classroom contained far more occupants than she had guessed: she recognized Mulciber, Avery, Wilkes, Rosier, and Severus, as well as several other Slytherin boys whose names she did not know.

But after they had all left, Diana remained by the door. For there was one person whose voice she had heard that she had not seen yet.

A few moments later, Diana saw Lucian Daungiere's distinctive black ponytail walking away from her as he left the room, deep in thought. No doubt he was on his way to the Great Hall to meet her before breakfast.

She would not be there.


	12. Unto Thyself Be Truthful

**Chapter XII**

**Unto Thyself Be Truthful**

It is amazing how easily we as humans can ignore the obvious, simply because we don't want to believe it.

Diana knew what she had heard Lucian say. She knew that his ideas about Muggle-borns were nearly identical to those of the group named the Death Eaters whose acts of terror she had read about in the _Daily Prophet_ with a mixture of detached fear and unsettling interest. It had even occurred to her, as she lay awake in her dormitory, that the group of Slytherins she had seen were planning on becoming Death Eaters themselves. Several of them were rumored to practice the Dark Arts – including, she realized with dismay, Severus, and as far as he was concerned she knew the rumors were true. And why else would they be meeting in secret, in the early morning when they had the least chance of being caught or overheard?

But despite all of this, Diana managed to convince herself that Lucian wasn't up to anything sinister. He was too charming, too handsome, and _far_ too noble to ever be Death Eater material. He was entitled to his own ideas about Muggle-borns if he wanted to have them, and in any case Diana had never seen him be anything less than courteous to Lily or any other Muggle-born. No, she decided, the meeting she had overheard was nothing she needed to worry about. With her mind made up, Diana made a quick trip to the Owlery to send off her temporarily forgotten letter before spending the rest of the day catching up on sleep.

An only partially untrue excuse about not feeling well was enough to appease Lucian the next morning when he anxiously asked Diana where she had been the day before. He accepted her explanation without question, charming her as always, and the incident was fully driven from her mind.

* * *

Two days later, Diana was contentedly snacking on Cauldron Cakes aboard the Hogwarts Express as she idly listened to Lily and Severus talk about their plans for the holidays. She was glad to hear them getting along; she had been witness to too many arguments between the two of them lately.

"I wish you weren't going off with your family," Severus was saying regretfully. "What did you say you were doing again? _Skiing?"_

"Yes, _skiing," _said Lily in exasperation. "It's when Muggles attach long sticks to their feet and slide down snowy mountains. It's more fun than it sounds."

"How do Muggles survive it without magic?" Severus asked incredulously.

"Well, sometimes there's accidents…"

The look of alarm on Severus' face quickly changed to disgust as the compartment door slid open and Remus Lupin appeared, a sheepish grin on his face. Severus made a move to draw his wand, but a look from Diana stopped him.

"Hey, Diana – sorry to bother you, but I have your owl," Remus said disbelievingly as he stepped inside the compartment. It was true – Larissa sat chirping on Remus' outstretched left arm, looking flustered but nonetheless happy to be there. She fluttered down to Diana's side and dutifully held out her leg, expecting Diana to untie the roll of parchment attached to it.

"What?" Diana said in disbelief, ignoring her owl for the moment. "How on earth did she get on the train?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Remus replied. "I think she managed to land on the roof and then climb down through a window – the window of _my _compartment. It was probably one of the few ones open. She must really want to deliver that letter."

Remus was definitely correct in his assumption; Larissa had begun pecking at Diana's leg in an effort to get her attention. Diana hastily untied the roll of parchment to appease her owl before turning back to Remus, who was still standing awkwardly in the doorway and giving Severus a wary look.

"Thanks, Remus, I appreciate it," Diana said, grinning. Remus nodded but still stood in the doorway, looking exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Is there something _else _you wanted?" Severus asked coldly.

"Well – yes, actually," Remus said awkwardly, shifting his weight in his nervousness. He took a deep breath. "Diana – Evans – James wanted me to ask you if you would join us in our compartment for, um, a – talk – about something." He seemed to apologize as he said it, and Snape's poisonous glower did not make him any more comfortable.

"Well you can tell _Potter _that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request," Lily said icily, crossing her arms and lifting her chin. "I want nothing to do with him."

Lupin sighed. "I thought you would say that. At least James can't say I didn't try."

"I'll go see what he wants," Diana said exasperatedly, and Lily and Severus looked at her in surprise.

"_Why?"_ Lily asked incredulously. "He's not worth your time!"

"If one of us doesn't go, he's probably just going to show up here and harass us himself," Diana said matter-of-factly. "Besides, we all already know what he wants to talk to _you _about. I'm more curious about what he wants _me _for. He doesn't usually make a habit out of bothering _me_."

"Fine," Lily said, seeing the reason in her argument. "Just tell him he's a vile _git_, from me, okay?"

Diana laughed as she stood up to leave with Remus. "I think you tell him that often enough," she said, sliding the compartment door closed behind her.

Remus visibly relaxed as they walked out of sight of Severus' malevolent stare. Diana knew Remus didn't like getting into conflicts and she could greatly sympathize with him, especially where Severus was concerned.

"It's not you he hates, you know," she said as Remus led her down the hall. "James and Sirius are the ones who set out to make him miserable."

"I'm not so sure," Remus replied. "I've stood by and watched them mess with him on a number of occasions. I wouldn't blame him for disliking me because of it."

Diana grinned. "That's just because you're so understanding," she said fondly. "By the way, what exactly does James want to talk to me about?"

"I think I'd better let him explain it," said Remus, sounding uncomfortable again. "Ah, here we are."

He opened the door of a compartment on the right and Diana followed him inside. She was not surprised to see who was there. Sirius Black was lounging against the wall, grinning at something and looking as carefree as usual. James was doing much the same, although when he saw Diana had come alone he was clearly disappointed. And little Peter Pettigrew was sitting in the corner of the compartment, looking a little out of place but perfectly happy to be there.

"No Evans?" James asked, although the answer was obvious.

"Honestly, James," Diana said, taking a seat. "I admire your determination, but you should have learned your lesson by now."

James sighed resignedly. "Alright then," he said in a businesslike tone after a short pause. "Diana – as your fellow Gryffindor – and fellow Quidditch player – and, well, you're a friend of Evans'…" he faltered, then turned to Sirius. "_You _tell her," he muttered.

"No way mate," Sirius said, putting his hands up. "This one's all yours."

"Tell me what_?" _Diana demanded. James sighed and leaned forward, dropping his tone to a whisper. Diana leaned toward him anxiously.

"Peter overheard something I think you should know about," he said, gesturing to his friend in the corner. Peter suddenly seemed to shrink into the seat. There was another uncomfortable silence. Diana rolled her eyes.

"If you just spit it out already I'm sure you'll feel a _lot _better," she said, turning on Peter. "Honestly, it can't be that horrible, can it?"

"It's – it's about L-Lucian," Peter stammered. Diana glowered at him. When no one elaborated, she stood and pulled out her wand, causing everyone to instinctively recoil. Peter yelped in surprise.

"Maybe it would be better if you _showed _me," Diana said coldly, pointing her wand at Peter's head. Her heart was racing. The fear she had been repressing ever since she had discovered Lucian and his friends in the empty classroom began to return, and it almost instantly gave rise to icy anger. _"Legilim–"_

"No! Diana, Lucian's planning to join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! He wants to be a Death Eater!"

Diana froze, her wand still pointed at Peter's head. She turned slowly to face the speaker. Her thoughts seemed to move in slow motion.

"Peter overheard them talking about it in their compartment," Remus continued sadly. "It was unmistakable, Diana. You _have _to believe me."

"You're lying," Diana said flatly.

"He's not lying Di –"

"Lucian's not _like _that!" Diana snapped. Her fear transformed to rage as she wheeled on James, who had just spoken. "You think that just because he's in Slytherin he _has _to be a Death Eater because for whatever reason you have something against everyone in that house. You use it as an excuse to hex them in the corridors and treat them like they're lesser life forms because that makes _you _feel good about _yourself! _And you can't let yourself think that you're wrong, because if you are…" she dropped her voice to a venomous whisper. "Then that means that Severus just might be good enough to have a chance with Lily. And that means that Lily has a good reason to like _him _more than _you. _And I don't think your bloody ego can stand the very idea."

There was silence. Even Sirius was speechless, and James looked furious.

"You don't know Lucian," Diana said in a low voice. "And you can't judge him based on what you think of everyone else in his house."

"You're right, Diana," Remus said softly, trying to break the tension. "We don't know Lucian. But we do know what we heard. I know you're close to him – but you owe it to yourself to at least consider the facts. We _heard _him talking about joining You-Know-Who. We may be jokers sometimes –" he gave James and Sirius a look. "But we would _not _joke about this."

Diana met his eyes for a moment, but quickly looked away. His gaze was too uncomfortably sincere, and she didn't want him to be telling the truth.

"How did you overhear?" she asked, not looking at anyone.

"It doesn't matter," James said quickly.

"He wouldn't be talking with other Slytherins about it if he weren't serious. And we wouldn't be telling you we heard him if we hadn't," Remus said. "So it has to be true. You _have _to believe us."

"He could by lying to them," Diana said quietly. "He could be planning to expose them to Dumbledore or the Ministry…."

"He wasn't interested in you until he learned you were a Parselmouth." James said bluntly. "You know that's a trait of a powerful dark wizard, and you can bet Lucian knows it too. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to recruit you, assuming he hasn't already."

"He hasn't," Diana said automatically. She couldn't think straight.

"I'm so sorry, Diana," Remus said, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're close."

"Don't be sorry," she said quietly. The shock was beginning to wear off, and she could feel an uncomfortable lump in her throat. "You – you were right to tell me." She turned to face James.

"No apology necessary," he said as she opened her mouth. "Just promise me you'll keep away from Lucian. He's bad news."

Something seemed to click in Diana's mind as she remembered the theory she had just had a moment earlier. The lump in her throat vanished, and to the confusion of James and his friends, she smiled.

"I think I have a plan," she said, her smile growing wider. James looked worried; Remus looked thoroughly alarmed. "You know me. I have to see things for myself."

"Diana, I don't think that's a good idea…"

Diana ignored Remus' worried voice and continued. "Either Lucian's lying to his so-called friends, or he's telling the truth. If he's lying, then you're wrong and he's still the Lucian I know. If not…" she paused, then closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"I'm a fool," she whispered, sinking the seat behind her. The lump was back. "He's practically their leader. He's not lying and I know it."

Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but Sirius gave him a meaningful glance. For once, he had been silent for almost the entire conversation.

"I should go," Diana said, and stood to leave. She wasn't sure how long she could hold it together, and she didn't want to cry in front of James. Or Sirius, for that matter, or any of them.

"Diana – wait –" Remus said, blocking her exit. She looked up at him helplessly.

"If there's anything I can do… just ask."

Diana looked at him curiously for a moment, then nodded her thanks and left the compartment. She wasn't sure she could trust herself to speak.


End file.
